An interesting challenge awaits your Montreal Canadiens as they face off against an Atlantic Division opponent in the Florida Panthers. The Panthers are currently being led by the ageless Jaromir Jagr in scoring and are a single point behind the Habs in the standings with 43 to their name.
I can't quite recall the last time the Florida Panthers were considered a rival for the Habs, if they ever were. The stakes are higher tonight as the Habs hope to build upon their win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, which ended a six-game losing streak. With only one point separating both of these teams, it's clear that the division-leading Canadiens would love to keep their momentum going and add a minor cushion to their comfort. They have not fallen out of playoff contention and continue to sit in second place in the Eastern Conference despite their recent struggles of 1 win in 11 games.
In a solid veteran performance, the Habs beat the Lightning by a score of 4-3 last night in order to help solidify their position in the standings. While they're clearly not out of the woods yet, there will be a lot to correct if they hope to serve former assistant coach Gerard Gallant's team its first loss in 7 games. A victory tonight would mark the Habs' first two-game winning streak in over a month.
During his postgame press conference, Michel Therrien alluded to the fact that newly-acquired goalie Ben Scrivens will be in net tonight and will get his first NHL start of the season. I expect that the defensemen will look to tighten their game around a goaltender who might show early signs of nervosity. His numbers in the AHL were not spectacular this year, but he's come into form in recent games with a .942 save percentage over his last 5 games in Bakersfield.
Alexei Emelin will surely sit this one out yet again as Mark Barberio did very well in the 12+ minutes that he played last night. Barberio, along with Greg Pateryn, formed a very respectable duo despite being on the ice for one of the goals against. Many have speculated that the combination of these two defenders can replace the Emelin and Tom Gilbert pairing, the latter of whom will skip his turn due to an injury sustained last week.
With both teams playing with an edge of hunger and determination, I predict that it will be a very close game, similar to what we witnessed last night. If the Habs can earn a victory with another evening of veteran productivity and slightly better discipline, they can use their speed to draw penalties and revitalize their specialty teams. A win will go a long way in rekindling that sense of urgency and domination that the Habs flashed earlier this season. Hopefully, they can take that momentum with them to the Winter Classic on January 1st.