Game 51: Montreal Canadiens vs. Dallas Stars
Start time: **1:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM PST***
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Stars region: Bally Sports Southwest X
Streaming: ESPN+, TSN+, RDS
The Montreal Canadiens got out to an early lead versus a listless Washington Capitals team on Tuesday night, and managed to restore that lead on two occasions as the game progressed for a 5-2 win. It was just the second win of the season by three goals, matching one over the Chicago Blackhawks by the same score.
Such a margin of victory is rare, but the Canadiens are no stranger to getting to leads of three goals. They did so in the first meeting of the season with the Dallas Stars that ended the holiday road trip, scoring four consecutive times to get to a one-goal lead. Then they deployed their defensive strategy of choice to close it out: hold on for dear life. On that occasion, the plan worked as Samuel Montembeault stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced in the final 40 minutes to get the win.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| 21-21-8 | Record | 31-14-6 |
| 44.4% (30th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 53.9% (6th) |
| 2.74 (28th) | Goals per game | 3.67 (3rd) |
| 3.46 (27th) | Goals against per game | 3.06 (14th) |
| 20.3% (18th) | PP% | 22.6% (13th) |
| 74.0% (29th) | PK% | 81.1% (13th) |
| 1-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 0-1-0 |
It was a Cole Caufield’s power-play goal that stood as the winner that night. It was part of an offensive run for the winger that began in mid-December and hasn’t really slowed since. In the 21 games dating back to December 16, Caufield has 20 points, and enters this contest on a 10-game point streak. Those points have been well-earned as he’s been regularly putting three or four shots on target, but also showing off his passing talents. The plays he’s helping to create are too dangerous to not result in at least one goal a game.
Thanks to a power-play goal to cap the scoring last game, the Habs’ efficiency is now up over 20%. It turns out that you can’t simply replace Sean Monahan with Tanner Pearson and have it look as dangerous at it did before the trade with the Winnipeg Jets, however. A new player will be adding his skills to the top unit tonight.
After another three days of rest, Alex Newhook is poised to make his return to the team after missing 10 weeks with a high-ankle sprain. He was practising with the top unit yesterday as Martin St-Louis and his staff hope the player who co-led the team in goals at the time of his injury can give the main unit that fifth element to keep an opposing penalty kill off-balance. Despite having seven goals at the time of his injury, none had come on the power play, but the tactics have also changed in the months since he last played.
Playing in the same division as the Stars while a member of the Colorado Avalanche, Newhook has a good deal of experience versus the team, and comes into this game with five points in the last five meetings with his former rival.
Recorded goals versus the current leader of the Central Division hasn’t been the problem for most opponents that have faced Dallas recently, it’s scoring enough to come out of top. They’ve played in several high-scoring contests in the past few weeks, but usually manage to get that fourth or fifth goal to pull out a win. Dallas will offer more resistance than the Capitals in the last game, but Newhook and his teammates can still enjoy plenty of offensive success.
