Game 69: Montreal Canadiens @ Vancouver Canucks
Start time: **10:00 PM EDT / 7:00 PM PDT**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Canucks region: Sportsnet Pacific
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
When the Vancouver Canucks blew out the Edmonton Oilers 8-1 on opening night, the shock was more about the result for the Oilers than the Canucks’ offensive output; Edmonton’s continued early struggles only further contributed to that conversation. When Vancouver beat the San Jose Sharks 10-1 a couple of weeks later, the discourse was about how terrible the Sharks were to give up a double-digit goal total. As the season went on, and the Canucks were fairly regularly netting five goals, the focus started to shift toward their own play. All the talent they’d been amassing after missing the playoffs in seven of the previous eight seasons was beginning to come together.
Even then, the predictions were that their performance couldn’t last. The team was good, but was it really one of the best teams in the NHL? It was easy to win when they could score five goals, but what would happen when those numbers came back down to Earth?
The decline hasn’t happened. The usual shift to more defensive play across the league has seen their goals-per-game average come down, but that number is still fifth-best in the NHL at 3.49. Even during their season-long losing streak of four games from February 17 to 22, they scored seven goals in a loss to the Minnesota Wild.
The part that pundits didn’t factor into their predictions of a drop down the order was Vancouver’s performance on defence. They average just 2.67 goals against, which also ranks fifth in the NHL. On March 21, they continue to rattle off wins, and remain atop the Western Conference.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Canucks |
|---|---|---|
| 25-31-12 | Record | 43-18-8 |
| 45.1% (28th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 52.6% (7th) |
| 2.71 (27th) | Goals per game | 3.49 (5th) |
| 3.43 (26th) | Goals against per game | 2.67 (5th) |
| 18.2% (23rd) | PP% | 22.5% (11th) |
| 75.5% (27th) | PK% | 79.1% (18th) |
| 0-1-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-0-0 |
The specific defensive element that looked most likely to crumble was the performance of Quinn Hughes. Surely there was no way a small, offensive-minded blue-liner could maintain such a lofty goal differential. He was just getting lucky in his own zone and bailed out by a Vezina Trophy-calibre goaltender in Thatcher Demko. Yet, like the Canucks’ standing in the league, Hughes continues to be a defensive stalwart along with new partner Filip Hronek. Only Gustav Forsling (+48) of the Florida Panthers has a better plus-minus than Hughes (+37) in the NHL with a month to go. His actual share of five-on-five goals (63.3%) significantly outpaces his expected number (54.2%), but that tends to be the case when you play with elite offensive players who don’t need as many shots to score a goal — and when you are one of them yourself.
It wasn’t exactly an 8-1 win, but the Canadiens added the Oilers to their list of top clubs they’ve matched rather evenly since the All-Star break, and they’re hoping tonight’s effort can join the ranks. Their chances of doing so took a big hit with news that Joshua Roy is unable to play and has been sent back to Montreal with three games left to play on this road trip. Roy blocked a shot with his hand in Edmonton, and that is believed to be the source of his issue.
That will hamper the second line that featured Roy, Aex Newhook, and Joel Armia. It was a line Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch thought he could target with Connor McDavid’s trio, and quickly discovered otherwise, with Armia in particular having an excellent game at both ends of the ice. That unit had been critical to Montreal’s ability to stay with top teams, and it’s going to be very difficult to keep up with Vancouver’s offence without their impressive rookie cutting off transition plays and making calm passes in traffic.
A win may therefore involve locking things down defensively, no mean feat versus a potent club, but nothing the Canadiens haven’t managed before. They had excellent defensive displays from Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, and David Savard in the last game, and will need more of that to at least have a shot at a victory in Vancouver.
