CANADIENS AT GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Here are five things you need to know when the Habs roll the dice in Las Vegas on Saturday night (7 p.m., SN360, CITY, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio), writes Pat Hickey
1. Matchup of opposites While the Canadiens have to rate as one of the biggest disappointments in the NHL this season, the expansion Golden Knights are the biggest surprise. The most generous expansion draft in NHL history gave Vegas a leg up on previous expansion teams because the NHL wanted this team to succeed. However, it’s safe to say nobody expected the Golden Knights (38-15-4) to be in first place in the Western Conference at this point in the season. The Canadiens, who beat the Golden Knights 3-2 at the Bell Centre on Nov. 7 in their only previous meeting, are riding a four-game winless streak (0-3-1).
2. A difficult road This is the third stop on a fourgame road trip and, so far, things haven’t gone well for the Canadiens. They were shut out in Colorado on Wednesday and lost 5-2 to Arizona, the team with the worst record in the NHL, on Thursday. Montreal has the worst road record in the NHL (8-18-1) and franchise goaltender Carey Price has lost his last eight road starts. Some of Price’s problems can be traced to a lack of offensive support, but Thursday night wasn’t one of those nights. With a 15-21-5 record, 2.97 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage, Price is experiencing the worst season of his NHL career.
3. About that offence The Canadiens have outshot their opponents in each of the past two games, but their 79 shots on goal produced only two goals. Fourthliner Daniel Carr returned to the lineup after five games as a healthy scratch and scored one of the team’s two goals in Arizona. Coach Claude Julien praised the fourth line for its work ethic. Carr led the Canadiens with five shots on goal, more than Max Pacioretty (no shots in the past two games), Jonathan Drouin and Alex Galchenyuk combined. Brendan Gallagher, who is known for his hard work, scored the other Montreal goal on a power play. Gallagher leads the Canadiens with 21 goals.
4. The other offence The Golden Knights are second in the NHL in scoring, generating 3.40 goals a game. They’re led by William Karlsson, who has 30 goals, 20 assists and a league best plus-32 rating. Jonathan Marchessault has 21 goals and a team high 55 points, while David Perron has 53 points, including 14 goals. James Neal has 24 goals, Erik Haula has 22 and Reilly Smith has 17. Marc-André Fleury, who has a few Stanley Cup rings from his days in Pittsburgh, is the No. 1 goaltender. He has to carry the load because P.K. Subban’s younger brother, Malcolm, is on the injured reserve list with a hand injury.
5. Making connections A key ingredient in the Golden Knights’ success has been head coach Gerard Gallant, who was an assistant coach with the Canadiens under Michel Therrien. He has left behind the disappointment of being fired after two winning seasons in Florida and has put together a fast, entertaining team that’s geared to compete in today’s NHL. Vegas GM George McPhee selected defenceman Alexei Emelin from the Canadiens, but flipped him to Nashville a week later for a thirdround draft pick in 2019. Vegas selected Canadiens defenceman David Schlemko from San Jose but, less than 24 hours later, traded him to Montreal for a fifth-round pick in 2019.