Game 42: Montreal Canadiens vs. Dallas Stars
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Stars region: Victory+
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
The Dallas Stars, currently ranking ninth in the NHL and six points back in the Presidents’ Trophy race, have arrived in Montreal riding a six-game winning streak. That’s a familiar number that the Canadiens have seen, also playing the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche on the road as they carried such sequences of victories. In both cases, the Canadiens put an end to those runs, and they look to do so again tonight.
It’s an impressive run from the Stars, but they haven’t exactly beaten the likes of the Golden Knights, Avalanche, Washington Capitals, and some of the other top contenders during this span. Their six wins have come versus the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Utah HC, New York Rangers, and Philadelphia Flyers, all teams currently sitting outside the playoff picture.
At the moment, Montreal is another one of those teams not slotting among the top eight teams in their conference. But if the Stars think the Canadiens are just another poor team against which they can easily add a seventh tick mark to their winning streak, they’re in for a shock.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| 20-18-3 | Record | 26-13-1 |
| 48.8% (23rd) | Scoring-chances-for % | 53.3% (6th) |
| 3.00 (16th) | Goals per game | 3.28 (9th) |
| 3.34 (27th) | Goals against per game | 2.50 (2nd) |
| 21.6% (17th) | PP% | 16.7% (27th) |
| 81.8% (11th) | PK% | 85.1% (1st0 |
| 1-1-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-1-0 |
Montreal might be best served by coming out with a surprise attack right off the opening faceoff. They just played a high-effort game in Washington that saw all of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson, and Alexandre Carrier play over 20 minutes. While they did have three days of rest beforehand and will enjoy another two after tonight, they won’t want to have the game’s result in the balance in the final minutes as some fatigue begins to set in.
The Canadiens will have to go through Jake Oettinger today, but for a second consecutive season he’s not quite up to the form he showed in his first three NHL campaigns. He does have 20 wins and a 2.41 goals-against average, but just a .908 save percentage, which ranks 17th among goalies to start at least 10 games. He’s had just as many games finishing under a .900 save percentage since December 1 as above that level, and most recently surrendered four goals to the Rangers.
The Stars don’t need elite goaltending to get their wins this season because they rank third-best in shots allowed, averaging just over 26 against per night. However, looking a bit deeper into those numbers reveals that the Stars rank down in 18th in expected goals against at five-on-five and 16th in high-danger chances surrendered. Oettinger doesn’t face many shots, but he ranks 27th among goalies to play at least 500 minutes in high-danger save percentage. The Stars do allow quality chances, and Oettinger can be beaten if Montreal continues to get the puck to the crease.
Ahead of today’s game, Patrik Laine was on the ice for about half an hour, while Michael Pezzetta, the replacement in his absence, came out to skate on his own as well. That could mean that the Finnish sniper is set to return to the lineup after missing the past four games with an illness. Laine has never scored a goal against Oettinger despite facing him six times in the 2020-21 season alone when the Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets were in the same temporary division. If he gets into the lineup, tonight would be a great time to notch his first and give his team the needed boost.
