Game 59: Montreal Canadiens vs. San Jose Sharks
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Sharks region: NBC Sports California
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Canadiens played the road half of their season series with the San Jose Sharks back on February 4. They went into the game on a five-game losing streak, and it was only snapped by a late Joel Armia short-handed goal in a game Montreal was outshot 30-20 by the league’s worst team. Squeaking through with a win versus the Sharks did little to boost the Habs’ play, as they lost their next three games to go into the break on a 1-7-1 stretch.
San Jose has played four game since then and lost them all to bring their season record down to 15-36-8, winning just over one-quarter of their games. Since trading away starting goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood on December 9, they have won five of the 28 games they’ve played, having a .232 points percentage in that time.
While the losses continue to pile up, San Jose has been managing to keep its games close recently. Starting with the game in which they hosted the Canadiens, four of their last five contests have been decided by just one goal. The most recent one saw them hold a 1-0 lead late on the Winnipeg Jets before surrendering the tying goal in the dying seconds and then losing in overtime. They have generally been playing well in these games, not just hanging on but outplaying teams as they did Montreal three weeks ago. They’ve hit the sweet spot in their play that allows them to entertain their fans with competitive matches without harming their chances of winning the first-overall pick, and you have to think they have their sights squarely on Matthew Schaefer to begin shoring up their blue line for the future.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Sharks |
|---|---|---|
| 27-26-5 | Record | 15-36-8 |
| 48.9% (21st) | Scoring-chances-for % | 42.6% (31st0 |
| 2.93 (15th) | Goals per game | 2.56 (31st) |
| 3.34 (28th) | Goals against per game | 3.68 (32nd) |
| 21.8% (16th) | PP% | 17.9% (26th) |
| 81.8% (7th) | PK% | 76.0% (23rd) |
| 1-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 0-1-0 |
Tonight’s match is the final head-to-head meeting between last year’s top draft selection, Macklin Celebrini, and Lane Hutson in what is shaping up to be the race for the Calder Trophy (along with Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf, whom Hutson will play next Saturday). Celebrini had two points to Hutson’s one in the first game, but Hutson comes into this game leading his counterpart by a point atop the rookie leaderboard. Voters for the award may be treating this game with extra weight in their evaluations, so it will help Hutson’s case if he can run his post-4 Nations point streak to three games.
Hutson wanted to be more effective coming out of the two-week break, and the points, including his fourth goal on Tuesday, are proof that he is. The team as a whole is playing much better after a rest, winning both games played so far.
Emil Heineman, another rookie, laughed when it was suggested that his return to the lineup was a big reason for the turnaround, but it’s fair to say he’s having a positive impact. He was one of Montreal’s better forwards versus the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, held off the scoresheet only by the post on two of his shots. The Canadiens went 5-8-1 in the 14 games he missed with a wrist injury; they’re 11-2-1 in the last 14 he’s participated in. Just playing in the offensive zone versus a team like Carolina is a good result for Heineman and his linemates, and they should see some offensive results if they do that again versus the Sharks.
