Game 52: Montreal Canadiens vs. St. Louis Blues
Start time: **1:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM PST***
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Blues region: Bally Sports Midwest
Streaming: ESPN+, TSN+, RDS
Just as the Montreal Canadiens were beginning to get healthy, with only Kirby Dach and Christian Dvorak being members of the opening-night roster sitting out, the team was dealt another blow. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was unable to play the second half of yesterday’s game after a collision with Joel Armia in the neutral zone.
That has led to the recall of Joshua Roy for a second stint in the NHL. Roy got used to playing with Sean Monahan in his first stretch and now it’s likely going to be Alex Newhook, the player who most recently came back from injury and stepped right into Monahan’s old role in the lineup and on the power play, whom the rookie forward gets placed alongside.
Newhook has looked good since returning, showing no loss of speed after dealing with a high-ankle sprain, though he was just one of the non-top-line forwards who are got outchanced in the game. It could be that a partnership between him and a poised Roy will provide the Habs with another stable trio.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Blues |
|---|---|---|
| 21-22-8 | Record | 27-21-2 |
| 44.3% (30th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 46.0% (27th) |
| 2.73 (28th) | Goals per game | 2.84 (26th) |
| 3.45 (27th) | Goals against per game | 3.06 (16th) |
| 19.8% (19th) | PP% | 15.7% (24th) |
| 74.9% (28th) | PK% | 78.8% (21st) |
| 0-1-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-0-0 |
Montreal will need some other options playing well because today’s opponent, the St. Louis Blues is no easier than the Dallas Stars were yesterday. St. Louis won five of the final six games heading into the All-Star break, with the win streak only broken up by an Elvis Merzlikins shutout in a 1-0 loss on January 30. The Blues got back to their winning ways yesterday versus the Buffalo Sabres, continuing a run that has propelled them up into a wild-card spot in the Westerns Conference.
With their offensive numbers not looking a whole lot different from Montreal’s, it’s the Blues’ defensive play that serves as the reason why they sit in a playoff spot and Montreal doesn’t. It’s not an elite team by any means, but their play in their own end allows them to get points on nights when they score fewer than three goals. They have 13 points when that happens; Montreal has four.
The Blues have recorded at least three goals in each win during this current run, however, so if Montreal wants to keep pace, their special teams will need to be strong once again. They looked good on not only the power play but the penalty kill as well versus the Stars with an aggressive approach looking for goals and not just running out the two minutes. Special teams aren’t a strength of the Blues, so that’s a battle the Habs can win.
Jake Allen will be tasked with dampening the Blues’ output. After a rough stretch, he hasn’t allowed more than three goals in his last three outings and has helped the Canadiens earn three points in that time. He may not have many games left with Montreal with the trade deadline approaching, and he can improve his chances of going to a new Stanley Cup contender with another good performance versus the team he won a championship with in 2019.
