The Montreal Canadiens are visitors to the Vancouver Canucks tonight as the Habs have an opportunity to match the NHL record of ten straight wins to start a season. Carey Price (7-0, 2 shutouts, 1.29 GAA, .961 SV%) is expected to be in net, as will Ryan Miller (3-2-3. 2.09 GAA, .926 SV%) of the Canucks. No changes to the lineup are being made by head coach Michel Therrien.
The Canucks will be looking to put an end to the seemingly endless hot streak of the Habs, while stopping their four-game losing streak. A familiar face will surely want to have his say in how the game plays out, as former Canadiens Brandon Prust will face his old team for the first time tonight. He sees it as the perfect opportunity for the Canucks to put an end to their recent woes.
Prust played three seasons in Montreal before being traded to Vancouver in exchange for Zack Kassian, who is currently in rehab after being involved in a car accident back in September. Kassian has yet to lace up for the Canadiens during the regular season, and at the rate with which the team is finding success, it will be hard for Michel Therrien to justify substituting Kassian for any of the players.
The Habs are appropriately being led by their captain Max Pacioretty (7G, 4A, +12) as well as Tomas Plekanec (5G, 5A), P.K. Subban (1G, 9A), Andrei Markov (1G, 9A, named second star in the NHL), and Brendan Gallagher (4G, 5A). All five of these players have at some point or another worn the “A… on their jerseys, and currently lead the NHL in the +/- category, which is an indicator of the overall balance of and the effort put out by the team.
Seemingly, the players and leaders on this team have found ways to not let their early season successes get to their heads, as their focus will remain on the most important goal of the season: winning a Stanley Cup. At least, that’s what P.K. Subban thinks, calling their hot streak nothing more than a “great start to the season…. The players clearly won’t allow themselves to buy into the media hype or how they’re being perceived around the league.
With everyone on the same page, the team will continue doing well. A lacklustre performance by Alexander Semin last weekend won’t earn him a demotion for now, as there’s no point in changing a winning formula. As long as they’re winning games, the lineup will remain intact.
As far as being a hockey writer goes, I believe most of the media will agree that it’s hard to nitpick when a team is doing so well.
Check back soon for my recap of tonight’s game against the Canucks.