The Montreal Canadiens will try to bounce back from their 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins when they host the Los Angeles Kings tonight at the Bell Centre. Energy should be on the Habs’ side as they last played on Monday night while the visitors were in Toronto last night to take on the Maple Leafs.
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When the team practiced in Brossard yesterday, Kirby Dach wasn’t on the ice as he was benefiting from a treatment day. Martin St-Louis was asked after practice if his centre could potentially miss today’s tilt and his only answer was “I don’t know”. Jeff Gorton did tell TSN 690 that he’s expecting him to play though, but the morning skate should allow us to know for sure if he’ll be in the lineup.
St-Louis did however say yesterday that Jayden Struble was ready to play so he may get to play his first game of the season tonight. If that is the case, look for either Arber Xhekaj or Justin Barron to skip a turn. In the last match, the former was the least used blueliner, only spending a little over 14 minutes on the ice.
Tonight will be a milestone game for rugged veteran defenseman David Savard who will be playing his 800th NHL game.
Related: 5 Fascinating Things To Know About David Savard
Los Angeles comes to town after losing 6-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs and with 4 points to its name thanks to a single win, a loss and two overtime losses in four games. The Kings had a tough pre-season, losing Drew Doughty to a fractured ankle after a knee-on-knee hit during a game against the Vegas Golden Knights. The alternate captain had to undergo surgery to repair the damage and is considered month-to-month.
As always, captain Anze Kopitar leads the way for the LA outfit with six points in three games. Former Canadiens player Philip Danault had only got an assist to his name since the start of the campaign but leads all centers on the team in faceoff efficiency with a 48.4% success rate. He currently patrols the ice on the second line, pivoting Tanner Jeannot and Trevor Moore.
The Kings will however be without another former Hab as Joel Edmundson who they signed to a four-year contract as a free agent this Summer has been designated as a non roster player since his wife is in the very last miles of her pregnancy and he’s therefore on baby watch.
The Canadiens currently lead all NHL teams in scoring by rookies with the Habs’ three first year players having cumulated seven points or 20.6% of the points Montreal has put on the boards. Impressive, especially considering Emil Heineman and Oliver Kapanen are only seeing fourth-line minutes.
This article will be updated throughout the day as lineups, starting goaltenders and other stats become available.
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