Game 30: Montreal Canadiens @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Penguins region: Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
“I can’t keep having to answer the same question over again,” a slightly agitated Sidney Crosby said as training camp was opening this summer. The Pittsburgh Penguins had failed to make the playoffs the last three seasons, and the most valuable asset the team has to begin a rebuild is undoubtedly Crosby. Speculation about him moving to a new team, the loudest concerning a potential move to Montreal, was the main topic in the media ahead of the season.
He was so fed up with the talk that he tried to put an end to any discussion of Pittsburgh being a seller this year. When the book closed on the opening month of the season, the Penguins were 8-2-2, the best record in the NHL, and Crosby was 13th in the league scoring with a very on-brand eight goals and seven assists.
November wasn’t as kind to Crosby’s team, and now they’re dealing with a brief absence for Evgeni Malkin, but less than two weeks from the Christmas break the Penguins are sitting in the first wild-card spot with three games in hand over the next team in the Metropolitian Division they’re chasing. They just took points off very good teams in the Anaheim Ducks and Dallas Stars, and go into tonight game with their eye on extending a point streak to five games.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Penguins |
|---|---|---|
| 15-11-3 | Record | 14-7-7 |
| 48.0% (24th) | Expected-goal share | 51.3% (12th) |
| 3.14 (10th) | Goals per game | 3.14 (9th) |
| 3.55 (30th) | Goals against per game | 2.71 (8th) |
| 25.6% (4th) | PP% | 32.4% (1st) |
| 77.2% (26th) | PK% | 85.2% (4th) |
| 0-3-0 | Head-to-Head Record (24-25) | 3-0-0 |
| Cole Caufield (16) | Most goals | Sidney Crosby (18) |
| Nick Suzuki (25) | Most assists | Evgeni Malkin (21) |
| Nick Suzuki (33) | Most points | Sidney Crosby (31) |
The Canadiens are only a couple of points back in the playoff race, but at a time when they should be falling into a routine with everyone knowing their role on the ice, they’ve been playing some of their most unfocused hockey of the season. I looked like they had made the proper corrections after a couple of lopsided losses to the Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars a month ago, but now they’ve lost four of their last six games, three of those by three goals or more. It’s been a run of critical errors in quick succession that have allowed opponents to score goals in bunches, too many to overcome for a team missing four regulars for the lineup and with goaltending that hasn’t been able to keep the opponent from adding on.
Knowing that the team is better than its playing right now, a recall of three of the top prospects was made on Tuesday to fire a shot across the bow. Goaltender Jacob Fowler, whom management probably wishes could have spent the entirety of his first professional season in the AHL, is with the team in Pittsburgh and might get the call to play the Penguins tonight. They wouldn’t be asking him to steal a win if he plays, but make a few difficult saves and stop nine of every 10 shots he faces, something Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobeš have only accomplished in 12 of 29 starts.
Owen Beck is more of a sure thing with Jake Evans away from the team for a few days and not expected to back until it heads to New York to play the Rangers on Saturday. The Habs needed a centre to take that role for a game, and it appears that Beck will be flanked by Josh Anderson and Alexandre Texier tonight. The task is the same for him: play the game you’re capable of and at least offer resistance to the Penguins on every shift.
Adam Engström looks likely to replace Jayden Struble, who has had a few rough performances lately that started some of the sequences of goals against. It will be Engström’s third NHL game if it happens after he got into two matches on a recent road trip.
The Canadiens may not get the win with as many as seven rookies in the lineup, but the message is to at least not hand it away as they have been doing over the last week. They still have the talent to turn things around, but not the offensive depth to play from a couple of goals behind every night.
