Canadiens Hoping To Finish On A High Note Against Tampa Bay

The Montreal Canadiens will face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday afternoon and attempt to end on a positive note before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

The first day of family weekend at the Bell Centre didn't exactly go as planned. In front of lots of kids catching their first Montreal Canadiens game live in person, the young fans couldn't even cheer a single goal as the New Jersey Devils beat their favorite 4-0. It was a second shutout in a row suffered by the Habs at home and an eight loss in their last nine games. 

If you want to see the silver lining, the only game they won in their last nine was against the Tampa Bay Lightning who will be the visitors on Sunday afternoon. In fact, Montreal has won the first two duels between the two sides this season and they do say things come in threes right?

While Samuel Montembeault was in net for both wins, he will make way for Jakub Dobes on Sunday since he was on duty on Saturday afternoon. Dobes has never taken on John Cooper's men but he has a 5-2-1 record so far this season with a 2.45 goals-against average and a .917.

For the Lightning, Andrei Vassilevskiy was in net against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and received 37 shots in a 6-3 win, but since backup goaltender Jonas Johansson is injured and stand-in Brandon Halverson only has one game of NHL experience and there's a break coming, the number might just draw in again. Vassilevskiy is 15-3-2 against the Habs, with a 2.03 GAA and a .932 SP. As for Halverson, he has never taken on the Canadiens. 

Up front, Brendan Gallagher is the Canadiens' most productive player against the Lightning, with 17 points in 36 game, he followed by Patrik Laine with 13 points in 19 games and it would be the perfect timing for him to have a big game. Captain Nick Suzuki wraps up the top-three with 12 points in 17 games. 

As for the Florida outfit, Victor Hedman has always been a thorn in the Canadiens' side with 49 points in 50 duels with the Tricolore. Nikita Kucherov comes in second place with 44 points in 38 games. Brayden Point completes the top-three with 23 points in 28 meetings.