After pulling off the win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night, the Montreal Canadiens won’t have time to enjoy the win for too long. They must turn the page and prepare to face the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night. A win in this game would tie the Canadiens with the Columbus Blue Jackets in points.
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While the Washington state outfit is pretty much out of the running for the playoffs, Montreal won’t have an easy game. The two sides played each other in October, and tonight’s host annihilated the Habs 8-2 at the Bell Centre.
Samuel Montembeault was solid in the Canadiens’ in extremis win over Vancouver, but Martin St-Louis had announced before the game that Jakub Dobes would get the start in Seattle. Dobes has never faced the Kraken, but his young career is off to a good start with a 6-3-1 record, a 2.49 goals-against average, and a .913 save percentage. The youngster lost his last start, but he was great in the matchup against the Calgary Flames, and Dustin Wolf finished the game with a .958 SP
There’s no word yet on who will mind the net for the Kraken. Joey Daccord was in net for the October duel and has a 1-1-0 record against the Habs with a 1.86 GAA and a .932 SP. Philipp Grabauer breaks even against Montreal with a 4-4-0 record, a 2.74 GAA, and a .900 SP. Daccord was in the net for the Kraken's 4-2 loss against the Washington Capitals, while Grubauer led the team to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.
It will be interesting to see if Patrik Laine is ready to return to the lineup, and if he is, where does he slot in? On Tuesday night, the Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, and Joshua Roy line seemed to have Martin St. Louis’s confidence, and as a result, the team’s first line was not overworked. Would he have the same trust if Laine replaced Gallagher on the second line? Would he play the same way on the defensive side of the puck?
Tonight’s game will only be the eighth duel between the two sides, so even the most productive players against the Kraken have modest numbers. Captain Nick Suzuki has six points in seven games, Newhook has five in seven meetings, and Cole Caufield has 4 in seven. As for the aforementioned Laine, he’s only played the Kraken three times and has as many points.
Meanwhile, Seattle’s players have played the Canadiens much more often, and it shows in their numbers. Jaden Schwartz has 15 points in 19 games, Jordan Eberle has 13 in 25 tilts, and Andre Burakovsky rounds out the top-three with 11 points in 19 games.
So far, Seattle has won four games against Montreal and lost the other three, but the Kraken also outscored the Canadiens 26-19. The game is of pivotal importance for the Habs, who currently have a 13.8% chance of making the playoffs, according to Moneypuck.com. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 PM on Wednesday, so if you are on the East Coast, a nap may be in order, especially if you watched Tuesday night’s tilt. Hang in there; it’s Montreal’s last late game of the season.
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