Here are five things you should know about the game in Pittsburgh on Saturday (7 p.m., SN360, City, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio), by Pat Hickey.
1
The matchup
This is the third time these teams have met in the past two weeks with the Penguins winning the first two games by identical 5-3 scores. The Canadiens were leading 3-2 in the third period on March 21 in Pittsburgh, but Sidney Crosby scored a highlight-reel goal to tie the game. He took a pass out of the air, flipped it forward and then batted it past Carey Price. The Canadiens are playing for pride in this game, while the Penguins still have an outside chance of passing Washington to earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
2
Goals to be reached
Brendan Gallagher scored twice in a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings to reach the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career. Gallagher has four goals in his last three games and five points in a four-game point streak. He leads the Canadiens in scoring with 49 points and that’s also a career high. There are two other Canadiens who have a shot at 20 goals. Paul Byron, who scores on a team-high 17.9 per cent of his chances, has 19 goals and is looking for back-to-back 20 goal seasons after scoring 22 last season. Alex Galchenyuk, who is second to Gallagher in team scoring with 48 points, has 18 goals.
3
Niemi gets the call
With the Canadiens playing backto-back games — they are home to the New Jersey Devils Sunday — coach Claude Julien is splitting the goaltending chores. Antti Niemi gets the start against Pittsburgh, which is one of the teams that waived him this season, while Price will play at home Sunday. Niemi has been a pleasant surprise since the Canadiens claimed him from the Florida Panthers in November. He has a 6-4-4 record with the Canadiens, but those numbers don’t reflect the quality of his play. He has given the Canadiens a chance to win in most of the games he has started and has a 2.25 goals-against average and .936 save percentage.
4
Crosby on a tear
The New Jersey Devils are the latest team to learn it doesn’t pay to get Crosby riled up. He was rocked by a butt-end from Travis Zajac Thursday night, but he came back to score the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory over the Devils. Crosby has scored goals in five consecutive games beginning with that tying goal against the Canadiens. He has 28 goals and 85 points. The Penguins’ leading scorer is Evgeni Malkin, who has 42 goals and 93 points. He’s third in the NHL scoring race, 10 behind leader Connor McDavid, and he’s three goals behind Alex Ovechkin in the Rocket Richard Trophy goal-scoring race.
5
Questions in goal
As the Penguins prepare for a run at a third consecutive Stanley Cup, there have to be serious concerns about their goaltending. While former Penguins netminder Marc-André Fleury is putting up some eye-popping numbers with the expansion Vegas Golden Knights — he’s second in the NHL in goalsagainst average (2.15) and save percentage (.931) — Matt Murray has struggled. He has a decent 25-15-3 record behind the highpowered Pittsburgh offence, but his goals-against average is 2.91 and he has a .907 save percentage. Those are not the numbers you expect from a playoff-bound goaltender. Rookie Casey DeSmith is better with a 2.63 GAA, but has no playoff experience.