Montreal Canadiens @ Minnesota Wild
How to watch
Start time: 8:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Blues region: Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Wisconsin
After the most explosive offensive game of the season thus far, the Montreal Canadiens will look to continue their hot streak Tuesday night in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Wild |
|---|---|---|
| 5-4-0 | Record | 4-4-1 |
| 44.7% (28th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 48.8 (19th) |
| 3.00 (23rd) | Goals per game | 3.33 (11th) |
| 3.00 (13th) | Goals against per game | 3.89 (28th) |
| 11.1% (27th) | PP% | 28.1% (5th) |
| 81.5% (10th) | PK% | 76.7% (23rd) |
| 0-1-0 | H2H Record | 1-0-0 |
The Canadiens seemed like a different team altogether on Saturday night in St. Louis, a contest that saw them claw back from a 3-1 deficit and come out on top with a 7-4 victory. Marked by a third period hat trick by forward Christian Dvorak, the first of his career in now his seventh National Hockey League season, the Habs were firing on all cylinders.
The dynamic duo of Cole Caufield and captain Nick Suzuki also each connected with three points-apiece, with Caufield potting a pair of goals and assisting on Suzuki’s, the captain scoring once and assisting on both of Caufield’s markers. The two goals by Caufield gives him already seven through the Habs’ first nine games, tied for second in the league only behind Oilers captain Connor McDavid.
The game also saw the return of first overall pick Juraj Slafkovský, who was in the lineup after missing three games with an undisclosed upper-body injury. His return was noticed on the bench, and on the scoresheet, as he converted the first road (and power-play) goal of his young career. The Canadiens, who had been mired in a 1-for-26 slump on the man advantage to start the season, tallied two with the extra skater Saturday, and jumped from 31st to 27th in the league following the game.
The Canadiens travel to Minnesota for the third of four games on their road trip, having won the first contests by a 10-6 margin. Now they get a rematch with the Wild, who beat Montreal at the Bell Centre just last Tuesday night by a 3-1 margin, led by Joel Eriksson Ek’s pair of tallies and a goal and assist by Brandon Duhaime.
Sorel, Quebec native Marc-Andre Fleury added yet another victory to his Hall of Fame resume. Since being drafted first overall back in 2004, Fleury has a lifetime record against Montreal of 25-13-0-6, including the 500th of his career last season in a 2-0 shutout at Montreal while a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.
He was also just named the NHL’s third star of the week, going a perfect 3-0-0, with a 1.95 goals-against average, all of those games on the road.
He also eclipsed New York Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist with the most shootout wins in NHL history (62). Their last game, played on Sunday, saw Fleury accomplish the feat in a thrilling 4-3 shootout victory. Forwards Frederick Gaudreau and sophomore sensation Kirill Kaprizov scored in the shootout to cap their 3-1-1 road trip. Forwards Matt Boldy had potted a pair in regulation and Mason Shaw scored the other, the first of his NHL career.
The Wild have a young, dynamic offensive group, but are struggling on the back end, having already conceded 35 goals through their first nine games this season, 28th in the league. Does this mean that Montreal, fresh off their seven-goal outburst, can break the defence and come up with yet another huge game? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: Montreal will look for revenge against the team they faced last week and aim to come out on top.
