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Game preview: Habs hope to take advantage of struggling Flames |
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The Montreal Canadiens will need to be weary of the struggling Calgary Flames as they get set to play their final home game before the All-Star break at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night. The visiting Flames are clinging to the second wild card spot in the Western Conference as their 51 points is just one ahead of the Vancouver Canucks. They are playing their second game in as many nights having suffered a 4-0 shutout to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. The Flames have now lost three games in a row, five of their last six and have given up the first goal of the game for the eighth consecutive time. They will almost surely come out firing on all cylinders as they attempt to right the ship and get on the board first.
With a record of 6-4-1 in the month of January, the Canadiens have managed to stay the course and continue to lead the Atlantic division with 63 points. The fact that they have been able to overcome injuries to key players and unexpected shaky goaltending from Carey Price is a testament to the team's players, leadership and coaching staff. Tonight's match will be a big opportunity to bank another two points and to try to head into their final game before the All-Star break on a high.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, Alex Galchenyuk re-injured his knee in the team’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night and will miss tonight’s game. He is considered day-to-day and in all likelihood will only return to the lineup after the coming break. While Galchenyuk had four points in his five games since returning from injury, he was not quite ready to resume full-time number one center duties as his timing was slightly off and had difficulty playing against other top lines. Phillip Danault had already replaced him at even strength centering Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov and so the Canadiens are prepared and have experience on how to adjust their lineup accordingly. He will be missed though on the powerplay as Galchenyuk was able to take advantage of the extra time and space with the man advantage. Andrew Shaw will likely center the top power play unit in his place as he will attempt to do his best Brendan Gallagher impersonation in front of the opposing goaltender.
Without Galchenyuk, the Canadiens lines will likely be:
Interestingly, it appears as though head coach Michel Therrien is giving Jacob De La Rose an opportunity to center the fourth line as Torrey Mitchell shifts to right wing. Daniel Carr will get back into the lineup in Galchenyuk's absence and since he is a left wing, it is likely the reason why De La Rose gets center the fourth line rather than Mitchell. Brian Flynn will get a big opportunity to center the third line in between Sven Andrighetto and Andrew Shaw. Flynn often gets overlooked but he has show the ability to step up every now and then and make a significant contribution. Carey Price will get the start in net.
Both the Canadiens and the Flames have cancelled their morning skates to Montreal’s weather conditions. It is like a skating rink outside and the teams are looking out for the safety of their skaters. Since Brian Elliott was in goal for the Flames loss to the Maple Leafs, there is a strong possibility that the Canadiens will face Chad Johnson in net. Johnson was pulled from his recent start against the Edmonton Oilers after having allowed three goals on four shots and also lost his start before that to the Nashville Predators when he allowed four goals on 21 shots. The starter will be confirmed later in the day. The Flames lines against the Maple Leafs last night were:
Forwards:
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Alex Chiasson
Kris Versteeg - Sam Bennett - Troy Brouwer
Lance Bouma - Matt Stajan - Freddie Hamilton
Defense:
Mark Giordano - Dougie Hamilton
T.J. Brodie - Dennis Wideman
Brett Kulak - Deryk Engelland
On a lighter note:
Puck drops at 7:30pm
Cheers and enjoy the game!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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