WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE BELL CENTRE
STM strike
Due to a strike by STM staff, there will be no metro and bus service between 5:45 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. today, so please plan your commute accordingly. For more information, click here.
Hockey Fights Cancer Night presented by CIBC
The Montreal Canadiens are proud to support the Hockey Fights Cancer program, founded by the NHL and NHLPA in 1998. Saturday’s game is dedicated to the children of Leucan, and a variety of initiatives are planned at the Bell Centre.
- Fans can sign the “I FIGHT FOR” mural in Section 116, and get a co-branded Hockey Fights Cancer x CIBC tuque on a first-come, first-serve basis;
- “I FIGHT FOR” cards like the ones held by Canadiens players on social media will also be available courtesy of CIBC in Section 116;
- One Leucan member will announce the Canadiens’ starting lineup in person to players in the dressing room and to the crowd via the scoreboard;
- Twelve Leucan members will accompany Canadiens and Mammoth players on the blue lines during the national anthems;
- Over 60 Leucan members and their families will attend the game thanks to the generosity of corporate suite holders.
For the full list of initiatives, click here.
TEAM COMPARISONS
Truthfully, the spotlight won’t be on hockey Saturday night. Still, there’s a game to be played between two teams sitting near the top of their respective divisions.
The Canadiens once again needed overtime in their last outing — a trend that’s becoming awfully trendy of late. Montreal has gone beyond regulation in four straight and seven of its last 11. As entertaining as 3-on-3 can be, a win in 60 minutes would be a welcome change. One focus for Martin St-Louis’ group: tightening up defensively. The Habs have allowed three or more goals in six consecutive games, well below the League average in that stretch.
As for the Mammoth, they roll into the Bell Centre on the third stop of a Northeastern road trip through Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa — with one win and one loss so far. Utah started hot this season, stringing together seven straight victories from October 16–25, but has since dropped three of its last four. Still, there’s plenty of promise in Salt Lake City as the NHL’s youngest franchise continues to grow, much like the NHL’s oldest franchise, the Canadiens themselves.
SEASON SERIES
Nov. 8 vs. UTA:
Nov. 26 @ UTA:
PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR
With two assists and a plus-3 rating against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday and five points in his last four games, Noah Dobson enters Saturday’s matchup in the midst of one of his best stretches in his early Habs career.
Nick Schmaltz has come flying out of the gates for the Mammoth with 18 points in 14 games this season. A first-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2014, Schmaltz has never totaled more than 63 points in a single campaign.
BY THE NUMBERS: MAMMOTH-HABS
Here’s how the Mammoth and Canadiens match up by the numbers:
