The Habs landed in sunny Anaheim, California on Sunday after putting in an excruciating effort in Detroit the night before that saw them squeak away a 2-1 overtime win. Despite the agonizing nature of the win, the Canadiens came away with the two points due to another stellar performance from Carey Price, and some overtime heroics from Alex Radulov and Alex Galchenyuk.
No, this team isn’t perfect, but they are winning. Saturday’s win was their league-leading 16th win of the season. Also of note, Alex Galchenyuk sits 7th in the league in points-for with 22 in 22 games (9G, 13A); Andrei Markov is tied for third in the league with 15 assists on the season; and Carey Price leads the league in wins with 13. So while this team isn’t playing optimal hockey, there are certainly things to be proud of and excited about as a Habs fan.
The Anaheim Ducks, on the other hand, have been an up-and-down team in this Randy Carlyle’s second stint as head-coach. To call the Ducks a “middling” team would be accurate at this point in the season, as they occupy the middle ranks of goals-for and goals-against, and find themselves in the middle of the pack of a very tightly contested Pacific Division, currently holding the first of two wildcard spots in the Western Conference.
Puck Drop is 10:00 PM EST / 7:00 PM PST
How to watch:
Canada (English): Rogers Sportsnet East
Canada (French): RDS
Ducks Region: FSW
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL Gamecentre Live, NHL Centre Ice
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Paul Byron | Alex Galchenyuk | Alex Radulov |
| Max Pacioretty | Tomas Plekanec | Brendan Gallagher |
| Artturi Lehkonen | David Desharnais | Andrew Shaw |
| Phillip Danault | Torrey Mitchell | Daniel Carr |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Alexei Emelin | Shea Weber |
| Andrei Markov | Jeff Petry |
| Mark Barberio | Greg Pateryn |
| Goaltenders |
| Carey Price |
| Al Montoya |
Scratched: Chris Terry, Zach Redmond
Injured: Charles Hudon (fractured sternum), Brian Flynn (upper-body), Nathan Beaulieu (throat).
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Rickard Rakell | Ryan Getzlaf | Corey Perry |
| Andrew Cogliano | Ryan Kesler | Jakob Silfverberg |
| Nick Ritchie | Antoine Vermette | Onrej Kase |
| Ryan Garbutt | Logan Shaw | Jared Boll |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Cam Fowler | Sami Vatanen |
| Hampus Lindholm | Josh Manson |
| Korbinian Holzer | Kevin Bieksa |
| Goaltenders |
| John Gibson |
| Jonathan Bernier |
Scratched:
Injured: Joseph Cramarossa (lower body), Clayton Stoner (lower body), Simon Despres (concussion-like symptoms), Nic Kerdiles (concussion-like symptoms), Nate Thompson (achilles)
