After losing their last two games, the Montreal Canadiens will try to bounce back when they host the surprising Utah Mammoth on Saturday Night at the Bell Centre. Andre Tourigny’s men are currently fourth in the Western Conference and third in the Central Division with 18 points in 14 games, two points behind the Habs.
Saturday night’s tilt will be the first of two games against the two sides this season, with the second match taking place on November 26 in Salt Lake City. Last season, each team won a game: Utah took the first tilt, 3-2 in OT in Montreal, and the Canadiens took the away match, 5-3. It was on that trip that the Habs lost Emil Heineman to injury when he was hit by a car, which derailed a very good rookie season for the Swede, who’s now plying his trade with the New York Islanders and has nine points in 14 games, including six goals.
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Since the Canadiens had a day off yesterday, it’s still unknown who will start in net for the Habs after both Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes lost their last game. Both goalies have played seven games so far, and if I had to bet, I’d put my money on Montembeault starting tonight. The Becancour native was in net for both games against the visitors last season and has a 1-0-1 record with a 2.89 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage.
The Mammoth starter is unknown right now, but Karel Vejmelka has had the lion’s share of the work so far this season, starting 10 games, while Vitek Vanecek has only played four games. Both masked men have faced the Canadiens five times in their careers, with a 3-1-1 record. Vanecek has a 2.80 GAA and a .888 SV, while Vejmelka has a 2.97 GAA and a .886 SV.
The Mammoth have only allowed 336 shots so far this season, the second-lowest total in the league behind the Vegas Golden Knights, and they’ve lost the only game in which their opponents outshot them. This could be a challenge for the Canadiens, who have struggled to get shots on net in their last two games, managing just 19 against the New Jersey Devils and 20 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Surprisingly, captain Nick Suzuki has never gotten a point against the NHL’s youngest team. He didn’t look quite right in the last game after blocking a big shot in the dying moments of the game against the Flyers, and hopefully, yesterday’s days off will have helped him feel better. Lane Hutson was the Habs’ top scorer against the visitors last season with three points in two games. Cole Caufield, Alexandre Carrier and Noah Dobson all had two points last season against the Mammoth.
On the other side, Clayton Keller loves playing the Habs, as evidenced by his 17 points in 14 games; Nick Schmaltz is second in scoring with 15 points in 13 games; and Olli Maatta completes the top three with 14 points in 27 games. As for Logan Cooley, who was picked third overall in 2022, two ranks behind Juraj Slafkovsky, he has three points in four games against the Canadiens, while the Canadiens’ power forward has no points in two duels with him. Still, Slafkovsky can be impactful in games without even scoring when he throws his big body around.
Despite losing their last two games, the Canadiens managed to keep first place in the Atlantic Division with 20 points, thanks to the two points they salvaged. The Detroit Red Wings are two points behind the Tricolore, but Montreal has a game in hand, which they will play tonight since Detroit has a night off.
The Canadiens are just one point out of first place in the league, which is held by the Colorado Avalanche, who have 21 points in 14 games. With Suzuki held off the scoresheet last game, the only scoring streak for the Canadiens is Kirby Dach and Noah Dobson, who both have points in the previous two games. Dach has been red-hot with three goals in the last two games.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM, and you can catch the game in French on TVA Sports and in English on City TV or Sportsnet East. Tonight’s game is the first of a four-game home stand for the Canadiens, who will host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
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