The Montreal Canadiens return to action on Tuesday night as they host the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre. This is the second matchup between the division rivals this season as the Senators defeated the Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout early in the season. That game though did not feature Carey Price though as he was still out with the flu at the time. At 14-3-2 the Canadiens continue to lead the NHL with 30 points while the Senators sit fourth in the Atlantic division with a record of 10-7-1. Ottawa is hoping to break their two game losing streak and become the first team to defeat the Canadiens (and Price) in regulation at the Bell Centre this season.
Head coach Michel Therrien and the coaching staff once again decided to mix up the Canadiens lines as at practice they were:
Lines: Byron-Galchenyuk-Radulov; Danault-Pleks-Gallagher; Pacioretty-Mitchell-Shaw; Hudon-DD-Terry. Carr odd man out #HabsIO
— Pat Hickey (@zababes1) November 21, 2016
Carey will get the start in goal while it appeared that Daniel Carr would be scratched, he will instead draw back into the lineup as Charles Hudon will sit tonight's game out. It is expected that Greg Pateryn will once again be a spectator as well. David Desharnais has been demoted to the fourth line as Torrey Mitchell is promoted to the third line for the first time this year. Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty continues to be in purgatory as he remains on the third line. Pacioretty seems lost on the ice this season as he has been bounced from line to line. He is not shooting the puck nearly as frequently as he usually does. There is an obvious saying that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take... His lack of production would be less noticeable if he was creating opportunities for his linemates but that has not happened consistently. While he has to be able to leave everything on the ice with each shift, he also needs to be put into a position to succeed.
"You can't always expect to have the puck come to you. Sometimes you have to go get it." - Michel Therrien on Max Pacioretty
— Ðrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) November 21, 2016
Pacioretty will not get out of his slump playing on the third line. He has been one of the top left wingers and goal scorers in hockey over the last five years. His production has been inconsistent ever since he was taken off of Alex Galchenyuk’s wing. It is time to get the captain going and the sooner the coaching staff helps him the better off the team will be.
There was some good news out of Monday’s practice as Artturi Lehkonen, Brian Flynn and Zach Redmond all skated on the second sheet of ice. The trio skated again before Tuesday’s optional started. While Lehkonen may only have one goal and two assists through twelve games before he got injured, he still possesses one of the team's best shots and was playing some very sound defensive hockey. He is also still adapting to the NHL and perhaps he will come back from this injury better than before as he had time to see and study the game from the press box. Brian Flynn was playing some excellent hockey before his injury on the fourth line with Torrey Mitchell and Phillip Danault. Together, the trio was contributing at both ends of the ice and was occasionally referred to as the best fourth line in hockey. Zach Redmond had a tremendous training camp outplaying Mark Barberio to earn a roster spot with the Canadiens. As the third defensive pairing has been struggling over the last few games, perhaps Redmond will be able to take advantage of an upcoming opportunity once healthy.
As for the Ottawa Senators, their lineup tonight should look like:
Hoffman and Ryan are both back on the ice this morning. #Sens are in Montreal tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/8KbqiPnC6y
— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) November 21, 2016
Craig Anderson is expected to get the start in net. Andrew Hammond was recently sent down to Binghamton in the AHL and so Mike Condon will be the backup goaltender for the second time this season against his former club, although the first time was in a Pittsburgh Penguins uniform. It is hard not to root for Anderson who has been playing so admirably since his return from when it was announced that his wife Nicholle was diagnosed with cancer. It is with these moments that we remember that hockey is just a game. One we enjoy perhaps to escape reality but then we are reminded of the fragility of life...
#Sens goalie Craig Anderson and his wife Nicholle release a statement revealing she is being treated for a type of throat cancer. #otntews pic.twitter.com/6fUNQ6GFe8
— CBC Ottawa (@CBCOttawa) November 18, 2016
A programming note for tonight’s game as RDS will be broadcasting the Montreal Impact’s playoff game:
The Canadiens game will be broadcast on RDS2 beginning at 7:30 p.m. RDS2 will be made available to RDS subscribers for the contest #GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 22, 2016
Five questions for tonight’s game:
1)Will it be a goaltender duel between Carey Price and Craig Anderson?
2) Who will break out of their slump first: Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher or Tomas Plekanec?
3) Which game is your priority to watch tonight, the Canadiens or the Impact?
4) Will the Canadiens lines finish the game as they started or will the blender be turned on during the game?
5) Which team will win tonight and what will the score be?
Puck drops at 7:30pm.
Cheers and follow along! Follow @Jenbcutler