Game 29: Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: Sportsnet (English)
In the Canadiens region: RDS (French)
In the Penguins region: Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, Sportsnet
For 13 games in a row, the Pittsburgh Penguins went without a power-play goal. With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Kris Letang, and off-season acquisition Erik Karlsson all available, they couldn’t find a way to make teams pay for penalties.
That streak of futility began in the final match of a five-game winning streak. Unable to capitalize on special teams, they proceeded to lose nine of their next 12 games, losing all the ground they had made up on a winning trip through California. What was supposed to be a final contending window with last season’s Norris Trophy-winner added to the fold is off to a poor start, with the Penguins sitting at .500, and tied with the Montreal Canadiens on 27 points.
A flicker of life on the power play last night resulted in what has been a rare win for the franchise in recent weeks. Just over a minute into the game, the Penguins got on the board with a man-advantage goal from Guentzel. After the Arizona Coyotes had managed to tie the game after 40 minutes, another power-play goal got them a lead in the third period, and stood as the winner as they went on a 4-2 win. The result included an empty-netter, but it was just the third time since the power-play drought began that they found the net four times.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Penguins |
|---|---|---|
| 12-13-3 | Record | 12-12-3 |
| 46.3% (27th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 52.6% (10th) |
| 2.61 (27th) | Goals per game | 2.88 (25th) |
| 3.39 (25th) | Goals against per game | 2.62 (6th) |
| 16.7% (24th) | PP% | 9.5% (30th) |
| 73.5% (29th) | PK% | 83.5% (10th) |
| 3-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record (22-23) | 0-1-2 |
The last thing the Canadiens want to see is a team with an effective power play. Their penalty kill has allowed 27 goals through 28 games, tied with the San Jose Sharks for the most. A perfect five-for-five night in Buffalo was the only time in the last six games the Habs haven’t allowed a team to score while up a man. It’s a virtually guaranteed goal that they have to overcome every night they take the ice.
Despite losing the special-teams battle last year — three power-play goals to two — the Canadiens managed to win the series series. They swept it in fact, going 3-0-0 thanks to a couple of overtime wins, the only opponent Montreal played at least three times and took a full complement of points.
It’s unlikely the Habs are going to post five goals tonight as they did on two occasions last year, however. It’s not just that such a total is rare for them this season, but the Penguins have cleaned up their goals against, surrendering under three per game. Goaltending is a big part of the turnaround as Tristan Jarry has rebounded from a tough season. Even with him likely serving as the backup in this game after playing last night, Alex Nedeljkovic is back on the form he had a few years ago with the Carolina Hurricanes, sporting a .937 save percentage through five starts.
Martin Sr-Louis will need a solid effort from his top line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovský to break that last line of defence. In a sequence of games when they’re generating chances on nearly every shift, they combined for seven shots and 13 scoring chances last game, which was actually a dip in the effort they have been showing.
The coach is asking for more net-front involvement from Caufield, playing the way he did last year when he scored 26 goals. St-Louis has gotten Caufield to play at his peak level before, and now that the coach’s work with Slafkovský has the sophomore playing an ideal style, the attention turns to the club’s most dangerous shooter to capitalize on the chances Slafkovský is creating.
