Game 37: Montreal Canadiens @ Dallas Stars
Start time: **8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Stars region: Bally Sports Southwest
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN
As frustrating as it has been to see the Montreal Canadiens play decently well on this road trip and come away with three losses, the fact is that only six players have managed to score goals. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki have combined for three of the seven goals since December 28, while defencemen Mike Matheson and Johnny Kovacevic provided two more tallies for the blue-line contingent. Josh Anderson has a goal in this time, and Mitchell Stephens has the other. Even with Christian Dvorak out with injury, that’s seven forwards who haven’t hit the scoresheet.
Part of the issue is how many of their shots are missing the target. On Saturday in Tampa, they approached their season-high in five-on-five unblocked shot attempts (41, two shy of the 43 they had versus the New York Islanders in mid-December), and yet only 28 of them tested Lightning goaltender Jonas Johansson; a third of the shots the Habs took banged off the end-boards, with no chance of becoming goals.
It is no secret that the Canadiens lack elite offensive talent, so trying to pick corners is going to lead to a lot of misses from players without the required accuracy, but there are plenty of cases where a pass across the zone is getting missed when a simple placement on net is good enough for at least a rebound chance. A lot of the work that is being done on cycles and neutral-zone rushes is wasted.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| 15-16-5 | Record | 22-9-4 |
| 46.4% (28th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 54.7% (6th) |
| 2.75 (27th) | Goals per game | 3.60 (2nd) |
| 3.39 (22nd) | Goals against per game | 3.03 (14th) |
| 18.3% (22nd) | PP% | 22.3% (12th) |
| 72.6% (31st) | PK% | 85.8% (2nd) |
| 0-2-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 2-0-0 |
The Dallas Stars don’t miss nearly so many chances. Despite ranking 19th in shot per 60 minutes, they are the league’s second-best offensive team, scoring 3.60 goals per game. That comes from scoring on 10.7% of their shots at even strength, and also having the number-two power play in the NHL. They even rank fifth in short-handed goals, with seven. It’s a dangerous team no matter which situation it finds itself in.
Dallas did what Montreal couldn’t the first time they faced the Lightning this season, beating them 8-1 in a visit to Texas. The Stars enter this game following a win by the same scoreline versus Connor Bedard’s Chicago Blackhawks. Unfortunately for the Canadiens, the Stars seem to save their largest outbursts for their home fans, with seven of the 10 occasions they’ve reached at least five goals in a match happening at American Airlines Center.
Former Canadien Evgenii Dadonov has eight goals, which would be good for fourth place on Montreal’s scoring list. In Dallas, that only has him ninth, behind the likes of Roope Hintz (15 goals), the ageless Joe Pavelski (14), Tyler Seguin and Jason Robertson (11), and our mock selection for the 2019 NHL Draft, defenceman Thomas Harley (9).
Like the game in Tampa, this will be one that’s just about scoring a lot of goals and hoping you have the most when the dust settles. The Habs aren’t going to win with three in this game either; the Stars have only lost one game in regulation this season when surrendering that total to an opponent. Though the Canadiens will be forced to play with 11 forwards once again, someone — or even two someones, there’s plenty of room on the scoresheet — will have to add to the top line’s production to prevent this from being an empty four-game road trip.
