The Habs did it: they won a game, and put an end to their longest losing streak of the season. They appeared to be on the brink of losing their seventh in a row after giving up two goals in 45 seconds late in the third period, but they prevailed for their third win in the month of December with a shootout win last night over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Habs will get a chance at recording their fourth win of the month when they visit the Panthers tonight, who momentarily held first place in the Atlantic Division until the Canadiens jumped back ahead of them after last night’s win. The Panthers have been on a very good run, and are currently on a six-game winning streak during which they’ve scored 22 goals and have only allowed 9.
Roberto Luongo will get the start for the Panthers, and will be seeking his sixth win in six starts. Luongo has been outstanding on the Panthers winning streak, posting a .936 save percentage and a 1.6 goals-against average. Jaromir Jagr continues to show up the gods of aging, and has been very productive this season with 10 goals and 15 assists. Jagr has 88 points in 79 games against the Canadiens in his illustrious career.
Ben Scrivens gets his first start after being acquired yesterday by the Canadiens. Scrivens played 10 games for Edmonton Oilers‘ AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors, posting a .893 save percentage. For more on Ben Scrivens, check out Jack Han’s analysis of how he could actually be a helpful addition to the Canadiens’ lineup. He’ll get his chance to help the Habs put together consecutive wins for the first time since the end of November.
The puck drops at 7:30 PM EST.
How To Watch:
In Canada (French): RDS
In Canada (English): Sportsnet East
In the Panthers’ region: FS-FL
Elsewhere: NHL GameCenter, NHL Center Ice
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Max Pacioretty | David Desharnais | Dale Weise |
| Daniel Carr | Alex Galchenyuk | Lars Eller |
| Tomas Fleischmann | Tomas Plekanec | Sven Andrighetto |
| Paul Byron | Torrey Mitchell | Brian Flynn |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Nathan Beaulieu | P.K. Subban |
| Andrei Markov | Jeff Petry |
| Mark Barberio | Greg Pateryn |
| Goaltenders |
| Ben Scrivens |
| Mike Condon |
Scratched: Devante Smith-Pelly, Alexei Emelin, Jarred Tinordi
Injuries: Carey Price (lower body) Brendan Gallagher (broken fingers), Tom Gilbert (lower body)
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Aleksander Barkov | Jaromir Jagr |
| Jussi Jokinen | Vincent Trocheck | Reilly Smith |
| Brandon Pirri | Derek Mackenzie | Logan Shaw |
| Shawn Thornton | Corban Knight | Connor Brickley |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Willie Mitchell | Brian Campbell |
| Aaron Ekblad | Dmitry Kulikov |
| Alex Petrovic | Erik Gudbranson |
| Goaltenders |
| Roberto Luongo |
| Al Montoya |
Scratched: Quinton Howden
Injuries: Dave Bolland (lower body), Steven Kampfer (lower body), Nick Bjugstad (upper body), Marc Savard (post-concussion syndrome)
Check out the enemy over at Litterbox Cats.
