The Canadiens’ 49 shots on net were not enough to get them a win last night in St. Louis. The 73 shot-attempt performance ended in a disappointing overtime loss, in a game the Canadiens arguably should have won, but couldn’t pull through victorious.
The Habs have now won just five games in the past twenty. The overtime-loss point last night has the Habs tied for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the Tampa Bay Lighting at 50 points. The ninth-place New Jersey Devils sit one point back with a game at hand. Actually, there are five teams within four points of the Habs and Lightning right now. Even the 13th place Flyers threaten, having three games at hand on the Habs and sitting only four points back.
With this real threat in mind, the Habs are in a city that’s very hard to win in. The Chicago Blackhawks are after their 20th win at home this season, boasting a league-best record of 19-5-1 at home. The Habs outshot the Blackhawks 40-33 in their encounter Thursday at the Bell Centre. Corey Crawford was excellent, stopping all but one that beat him midway through the first period.
Ben Scrivens gets the start tonight, and will be seeking his first win as a Hab. In two starts, Scrivens has allowed three and four goals in losses to Philadelphia and Florida. Despite giving up seven goals between two starts, Scrivens was solid, and gave the Habs a chance to win in both starts.
The Habs are faced with the task of putting a stop to the Blackhawks ten-game winning streak, on the road, in a back-to-back. If they can pull this one off it would be a huge boost of confidence.
The puck drops at 7:00 PM EST.
How To Watch:
In Canada (French): RDS
In Canada (English): Sportsnet
In the Blackhawks region: WGN
Elsewhere: NHL GameCenter, NHL Center Ice
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Max Pacioretty | Tomas Plekanec | Brendan Gallagher |
| Alex Galchenyuk | David Desharnais | Dale Weise |
| Tomas Fleischmann | Lars Eller | Paul Byron |
| Jacob de la Rose | Torrey Mitchell | Brian Flynn |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Andrei Markov | P.K. Subban |
| Alexei Emelin | Jeff Petry |
| Nathan Beaulieu | Mark Barberio |
| Goaltenders |
| Ben Scrivens |
| Mike Condon |
Scratched: Greg Pateryn, Devante Smith-Pelly
Injuries: Carey Price (lower body) Tom Gilbert (lower body)
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Andrew Shaw | Jonathan Toews | Marian Hossa |
| Artemi Panarin | Artem Anisimov | Patrick Kane |
| Andrew Desjardins | Philip Danault | Teuvo Teravainen |
| Richard Panik | Dennis Rasmussen | Ryan Garbutt |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Duncan Keith | Niklas Hjalmarsson |
| Trevor Van Riemsdyk | Brent Seabrook |
| Eric Gustvafsson | Rob Scuderi |
| Goaltenders |
| Corey Crawford |
| Scott Darling |
Scratched: Bryan Bickell, Brandon Mashinter
Injuries: Marcus Kruger (left wrist fracture), Erik Gustafsson (lower body)
Check out the enemy over at Second City Hockey.
