Match-up - Montreal Canadiens (26-12-3) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (18-19-3) Road/Home records - 13-7-1 -------------- 9-10-2 TV - SN, FS-O, RDS Puck drop - 7:00 p.m. ET Season series - 0-0 Last 10 - Habs: 7-2-1 ------------ Blue Jackets: 5-4-1 Projected starting goalies - Carey Price vs Sergei Bobrovsky
Projected lines for the Canadiens via DailyFaceoff.com:
Mac Pacioretty - Tomas Plekanec - Brendan Gallagher Brandon Prust - Alex Galchenuk - P.A. Parenteau Dale Weise - Lars Eller - David Desharnais Michael Bournival - Manny Malhotra - Christian Thomas
Andrei Markov - P.K. Subban Nathan Beaulieu - Sergei Gonchar Tom Gilbert - Mike Weaver
Projected lines for the Blue Jackets:
Scott Hartnell - Ryan Johansen - Nick Foligno Matt Calvert - Brandon Dubinsky - Cam Atkinson Sean Collins - Alex Wennberg - Jeremy Morin Corey Tropp - Mark Letestu - Jared Boll
Jack Johnson - David Savard Kevin Connauton - James Wisniewski Cody Goloubef - Fedor Tyutin
Injured: Artem Anisimov, Boone Jenner, Brian Gibbons, Nathan Horton, Jack Skille, Ryan Murray.
What to watch:
1) Special teams will be key in this one. The Jackets have been abysmal at 5 vs 5 all season, but lately they've been winning games because a) Sergei Bobrovsky has been excellent and; b) they've been very good on the power play. Until they prove they can do anything other than get caved in at even-strength, they'll need to win the special teams battle consistently.
2) Montreal has a mobile defense unit and several of their blue liners (notably Subban, Markov, and Gonchar) are well known for their hard shots, so the Blue Jackets will need to make sure they cover their points and close gaps quickly. If Subban and co. have time on a consistent basis it won't end well because they can score from a distance.
3) A good forecheck will be important as the Habs are very quick in transition and moving the puck up ice. If the Blue Jackets can force some turnovers in Montreal's zone, or at least force resets to their breakout, it will go a long way towards winning the game.
4) Ryan Johansen enters tonight's game on a 10-game point streak. Last time he reached that plateau (at the start of the year) he had his streak snapped and didn't record points in consecutive games for six weeks. That can't happen again.
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