CANADIENS AT WINNIPEG JETS
Five things you should know about the Canadiens-Jets game at MTS Centre (7 p.m., SNE, CITY, SN360, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio), writes Pat Hickey.
1 The matchup
Tonight’s game is the last meeting between these teams. The Canadiens were 5-2 winners at the Bell Centre on Feb. 7. The Canadiens are 3-2 in their last five games and the two losses have been to the teams they are trying to catch in the Eastern Conference wildcard chase — the Carolina Hurricanes and the Columbus Blue Jackets, who beat the Canadiens 6-2 Thursday.
2 Where they’re at
The game has playoff implications for both teams, but only the Canadiens are in a desperate situation. They are tied in points with Columbus at 90, but the Blue Jackets have a game in hand and hold the tiebreaker edge because they have three more regulation and overtime wins. Carolina has 91 points with a game in hand on Montreal, but only one more win.
3 Kulak on a streak
The good news is that defenceman Brett Kulak is on a scoring streak, with a goal and assist in each of the past two games. The bad news is that Kulak and fellow D Jeff Petry were the only Montreal goal-scorers in the loss to Columbus.
4 A not-so-happy birthday
Jonathan Drouin turned 24 on Thursday, but there was little reason to celebrate as the winger had another frustrating performance. Drouin is only one point away from matching his career high in points (53), but he has failed to earn a point in 20 of his last 22 games. He was on the ice for 12:28 in Columbus and managed two shots on goal.
5 The other guys
Blake Wheeler leads the Jets with 89 points, including 69 assists, which ranks third in the NHL. Mark Scheifele has 81 points, including a team-leading 36 goals. Kyle Connor has 33 goals, while Patrik Laine has 30. Laine has scored 15 of his goals on a power play, which ranks fourth in the NHL with a success rate of 25.8 per cent. But the young Finn is still learning to play at both ends of the ice; he is a team-worst minus-18. The Jets added Kevin Hayes at the deadline and he has four goals and seven assists in 15 games while winning 54 per cent of his faceoffs.