For the first time this season, the Montreal Canadiens are on a roll, currently on their first three-game winning streak of the season and digging themselves out of the Eastern Conference basement.
Tonight the Canadiens (7-8-1) have a rematch with the Minnesota Wild (5-6-2), a team they faced off against last Thursday night in St. Paul, with the home team doubling up Montreal 6-3. Forwards Matt Cullen (celebrated his 41st birthday), captain Mikko (the other) Koivu, and Mikael (not Markus) Granlund, as well as defenceman Matt Dumba, all had two points for the Wild, who currently sit 13th in the Western Conference, and last in the Central Division.
Montreal was led by forward Brendan Gallagher who scored two of his team’s goals, with Andrew Shaw getting the other.
How to watch
Puck drop: 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2, TSNGO (English), RDS (French)
In the Wild region: FS-N
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL GameCentre Live, NHL Center Ice
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistic | Wild |
|---|---|---|
| 7-8-1 | Record | 5-6-2* |
| 0-1-0 | H2H Record | 1-0-0 |
| 53.9% | Corsi-for pct. | 45.4% |
| 44 | Goals for | 40 |
| 57 | Goals against | 40 |
| 0.81 | 5v5 goal ratio | 1.00 |
| 15.9% | PP% | 17.1% |
| 74.1% | PK% | 82.0% |
*Minnesota’s record and stats not counting Wednesday night’s game in Toronto.
The Habs can also be found in 13th place in their conference, but with a lot more consistency in their play as of late, it should be a different game from what transpired one week ago. Heading into their second game of a six-game homestand, the team’s confidence is at a season high.
Despite losing all-star goaltender Carey Price to a lower-body injury, he did take part in Wednesday morning’s practice at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard. Off-season acquisition Jonathan Drouin left Tuesday night’s game versus the Vegas Golden Knights with an apparent upper-body injury and will be re-evaluated. His status for the game Thursday remains uncertain.
With Price on the shelf, third-string goaltender Charlie Lindgren has stepped up in a huge way for his team, winning back-to-back games and improving his NHL career record to 5-0. He made 29 saves Tuesday night against the Golden Knights, and 38 saves this past Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks for his first career NHL shutout.
In their most recent victory, 3-2 against Vegas, the Canadiens got goals from Gallagher, defenceman Jordie Benn and captain Max Pacioretty. It was Benn’s first multi-point game as a Hab.
Minnesota dropped a 5-3 decision against the Boston Bruins on Monday. The Wild saw themselves behind 4-1 after 40 minutes, and head coach Bruce Boudreau decided to give number-one goaltender (and for a very brief stint, former Hab) Devan Dubnyk the rest of the night off after allowing four goals on 24 shots. He was replaced by Alex Stalock. On Wednesday the team recalled goaltender Niklas Svedberg from Iowa of the AHL.
Montreal will hope to get revenge for last week’s loss, and run their record to seven wins in their past nine games.
