It will be a busy weekend for the Montreal Canadiens as they are on the road tonight to play the Columbus Blue Jackets before returning to host the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Although the Canadiens have not lost a game in regulation and sport the best record in the NHL at 9-0-1, they are coming off of their poorest performance of the season, save for Carey Price who stole the show in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks. For their part the Blue Jackets sit in sixth place in the Metropolitan division with a 4-3-1 record and are looking to win their third game in a row.
The Canadiens must not take the Blue Jackets lightly and come ready to play right from the puck drop. They will have to be especially disciplined and on their best behavior as the Blue Jackets have the top power play in the league with an outstanding 35% success rate. It will also be difficult for the Canadiens power play to convert as Columbus has the fourth best penalty kill with an 88.9% rate of success. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been excellent for the Blue Jackets, having appeared in all eight of their games and sporting a 2.02 goals against average and .941 save percentage.
The Blue Jackets lines should be:
Torts says same lineup, so here's your @BlueTech_Inc projected #CBJ lineup: pic.twitter.com/04776XSyGI
— ColumbusBlueJackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 4, 2016
It will be the first time that Canadiens fans get to see rookie Zach Werenski who has been terrific on the Blue Jackets blue line alongside Seth Jones. Werenski has been overshadowed by the focus on the Toronto Maple Leafs trio of top rookies and Winnipeg’s Patrick Laine . It also does not help that he plays defence and for a smaller market team. However, Werenski looks to be a stud and greatly improves the Blue Jackets backend.
For their part, the Canadiens are not expected to have any changes to their lineup aside from Al Montoya getting the start on the front end of the back to back. Today’s practice was optional.
Eventually, the Canadiens will lose in regulation. Every team will be coming hard at them, wanting to be the first one’s to bring them back to reality. What has been impressive through their 9-0-1 run, is that they are finding different ways to win each game. Need a timely power play goal? They can do it. Timely saves by the goaltender? Not a problem. Contributions from the fourth line? Check. A dangerous first line? They have that too. Yes, there are still questions marks on the team. For how much longer can Alexei Emelin keep up his high level of play and stay on the first defensive unit? Can Nathan Beaulieu be more consistent and a true top four defenseman? Will Tomas Plekanec breakout and contribute offensively? When will the top six get sorted out? However, these questions are not keeping the Canadiens from winning. Even when they do eventually lose, they should have the leadership and experience in place to focus on the next game and not dwell in the past.
5 questions for tonight’s game:
1)Will it be another goaltender’s duel tonight, this time between Bobrovsky and Montoya?
2) Can the Canadiens penalty kill hold off the Blue Jackets insanely good powerplay?
3) Will the Canadiens own power play rebound after a poor performance against the Canucks?
4) Is tonight the night that Plekanec and his line breaks out?
5) What will be the final score?
Cheers & follow along! Follow @Jenbcutler