The Montreal Canadiens enjoyed a day off on Friday after
their overtime loss to the New York Islanders, but they will be all hands on
deck on Saturday as they are set to host the Colorado Avalanche at the Bell
Centre.
It will be the second and last game between the two sides
this season. The first occurred in Denver in early January when Jakub Dobes
recorded a 2-1 shutout win against a hazardous Colorado attack. The youngster
finished the game with a .955 save percentage.
While Samuel Montembeault has been fantastic for the
Canadiens since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, he’s let in a couple of softies over
the last two games, and it will be interesting to see if Martin St-Louis
decides to give him a rest on Saturday night.
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However, the Becancour native has only faced the Avs twice
in his career, winning the only decision he was involved in. He has a 1.88
goals-against average against them and a .935 SP, which are pretty good
numbers. However, that’s a pretty small
sample; the same can be said for Dobes.
There’s no word yet on which goaltender will be defending
the Avalanche’s net. Mackenzie Blackwood was on duty the last time the two
teams met, and he was as good as Dobes until the shootout. He has faced the
Canadiens six times and has a 4-0-2, with a 2.26 GAA and a .931 SP. As for
Scott Wedgewood, he has lost his only duel with the Canadiens and has a 4.45
GAA and a .778 SP. He was on duty for the Avs last game and beat the Senators
5-1 on Thursday night.
The Canadiens have won their last three games against Saturday
night’s visitors but only four of the previous 10 meetings between the two
sides. Montreal is 6-1-3 in its last 10 games, while Colorado is 8-1-1.
Given Colorado's good attack, the Canadiens will need their
attack to be ready to go on Saturday night. Patrik Laine is the Habs’ most
productive player against the Avs, scoring 18 points in 20 games. Nobody else
is in the double digits, but to be fair, the two teams do not face each other
regularly. Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher both have eight points against
them, the former in as many games, while the alternate captain has faced them
15 times, but he has been red-hot over the last two games. Speaking of the alternate captain, he only needs one more points to join Pierre Mondou in 28th place of the top scorers with the Canadiens. Cole Caufield has four
points in five games against the Avs, while Lane Hutson has an assist in his only tilt with
Colorado.
Patrik Laine
First member of the Canadiens with 14 PP goals thru 38 games played in a season since Mats Naslund in 1985-86#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/3ROAU89EdM
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 21, 2025
As for the Avs, Nathan MacKinnon leads the pack with 17 points
in 18 games, followed by Mikko Rantanen, who has 14 points in as many games,
and Cale Makar, who has 10 points in eight games. Former Hab Artturi Lehkonen
has four points in as many games.
The Canadiens are currently in the second wildcard spot in
the Easter Conference, three points behind the Ottawa Senators, who will be
taken on the severely depleted New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The New York
Rangers and the New York Islanders are both trailing Montreal by two points;
the former will be taking on the Vancouver Canucks, while the latter will be
battling the Calgary Flames; both teams will play in the daytime, meaning
Montreal will know where they stand before puck drop.
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