Bell Centre attendees will be treated to a goaltending showdown tonight as Al Montoya and the Montreal Canadiens take on Jake Allen and the St. Louis Blues.
Montoya has fared exceptionally well over the course of his last five games. He won four in a row before posting a shutout in an overtime loss against the Edmonton Oilers on February fifth while posting an average save percentage of .932 over that same span. One would expect him to be lights-out in the comfort of his territory tonight, as the Blues are a resurgent team under newly-appointed head coach Mike Yeo.
Since firing Ken Hitchcock and replacing him with Yeo on February first, the Blues have won four of their last five games. They have gotten a lot of help from their netminder as Allen went 3-1-0 in his last four starts while boasting a 1.25 goals-against average and .958 save percentage in that same stretch. Evidently, crashing Allen's crease could help distract him, and the Habs might potentially count on the return of a certain somebody to do just that tonight;
Brendan Gallagher skating on line with David Desharnais and Paul Byron at #Habs morning skate.
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) February 11, 2017
Moreover, he was wearing a regular practice jersey:
Brendan Gallagher a un chandail régulier à l'entraînement ce matin. / @BGALLY17 is wearing a regular practice jersey this morning. pic.twitter.com/fe45z1FEjr
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 11, 2017
This implies that he is inching even nearer to a return after missing close to two months of action with a hand injury, though it remains unclear whether head coach Michel Therrien intends on giving him a few extra days off before the team enters its bye week after tomorrow’s game against the Boston Bruins.
While nothing is set in stone as of yet, there could be bad news for the Habs as captain Max Pacioretty, outstanding in the last contest with two goals and four points, could potentially be scratched from tonight’s lineup due to a virus as he missed this morning’s practice:
#Habs captain Max Pacioretty not at morning skate in Brossard. He has the flu. #HabsIO pic.twitter.com/eVqTqfpGJT
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) February 11, 2017
Brian Flynn took his place on the first line with Phillip Danault and Alexander Radulov, which could indicate that Flynn is simply filling in for Pacioretty while the latter recuperates at home.
Bagging four points in their next two games would certainly help calm the storm that is invading Montreal, as the Habs have struggled over the course of their last 41 games with an 18-16-7 record. A week of rest could not come at a better time for Therrien and his troops…
NOTE: In yesterday’s poll, 87% of respondents said that they believe Michael McCarron has established himself as a full-time NHL player and deserves to stick around.
Today’s poll asks: