The surging Montreal Canadiens are a confident team their last two games, and with good reason; they won both games, and have scored 10 goals in the process.
Montreal (16-15-4) came out of the NHL 100 Classic against the Ottawa Senators disappointed. They were shut out for the fifth time this season against a team they had beaten their two previous outings, and should have taken the two points. Unfortunately for them, Ottawa was hot in the cold, and Craig Anderson came up big when he had to, making 28 saves for his second shutout of the season.
After a couple of days to regroup, they traveled to Vancouver for a game against the struggling Vancouver Canucks. With goals coming from everywhere, Montreal wound up the better team, winning 7-5, with Carey Price winning in his home province and improving to 9-2-1-1 all time versus Vancouver.
Then last night, they faced off against the streaking Calgary Flames, and almost ran away with the game, dousing the Flames and going up 3-0 through the first 43 minutes. The ever-so-lethal fourth line of Daniel Carr, Nicolas Deslauriers and Byron Froese connected on the first two goals before Brendan Gallagher got his team-leading 14th of the season on a great pass from a healthy Arturri Lekhonen, who played in his first game after missing 16 with an upper body injury.
Calgary rebounded and got two goals in the third, but couldn’t get another as Montreal took the game 3-2. Price made 21 saves in his 12th straight start for his 11th win of the season.
The Habs play one more game before getting a few days off for the holidays, taking on the Edmonton Oilers with a shot at a perfect Western Canada road swing.
Puck drop is at 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
How to watch
In Canada: Sportsnet, Sportsnet Now (English), TVA Sports (French)
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL GameCentre Live, NHL Center Ice
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Max Pacioretty | Jonathan Drouin | Paul Byron |
| Alex Galchenyuk | Phillip Danault | Andrew Shaw |
| Artturi Lehkonen | Tomas Plekanec | Brendan Gallagher |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | Byron Froese | Daniel Carr |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Karl Alzner | Jeff Petry |
| Jordie Benn | David Schlemko |
| Joe Morrow | Jakub Jerabek |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Antti Niemi |
| Carey Price |
Scratches: Charles Hudon, Jacob de la Rose, Brett Lernout
Injuries: Ales Hemsky (concussion-like symptoms), Al Montoya (concussion), Shea Weber (foot)
Edmonton Oilers projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Milan Lucic | Connor McDavid | Jesse Puljujarvi |
| Patrick Maroon | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Drake Caggiula |
| Jujhar Khaira | Leon Draisaitl | Ryan Strome |
| Michael Cammalleri | Mark Letetsu | Zack Kassian |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Darnell Nurse | Kris Russell |
| Brandon Davidson | Adam Larsson |
| Andrej Sekera | Matt Benning |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Cam Talbot |
| Laurent Brossoit |
Edmonton (16-17-2) is also hot as of late, currently sitting on their first three-game winning streak of the season, beating St. Louis, San Jose and Minnesota in the process.
Captain Connor McDavid is leading the Oilers with 41 points, good for fourth in the NHL scoring race, while teammates Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl are tied for second with 26 points. Through their mini winning streak, both Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl have four points each (Nugent-Hopkins with two goals, two assists; Draisaitl with four assists).
The Oilers are currently five points out of a wild card spot, while Montreal is four, and with Christmas just a couple of days away, both would love a nice win before taking a couple of days with family, loved ones, and of course a glass of eggnog.
