Canadiens host Wild in likely low-scoring affair (Dec 22, 2016)
MONTREAL -- If you're guessing a combined score for Thursday night's meeting between the Montreal Canadiens and the Minnesota Wild, take the under.
Way under.
The Wild and Canadiens bookend the top four defensive teams in the NHL, with Minnesota leading the way with a 1.87 goals-against average (58 goals in 31 games). Montreal ranks fourth in that category, at 2.16 goals against (69 in 32 games played).
A large factor in both team's stinginess is their starting goaltenders. Carey Price has allowed two goals or fewer in seven of his last nine starts, posting a 7-1-1 record during that stretch. At the other end, Devan Dubnyk has been everything his team could have asked for in goal for the Wild since being acquired in January 2015, and is 9-0-2 in his last 11, recording a 1.51 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage in that span.
But while Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien confirmed Price would get the nod against Minnesota, counterpart Bruce Boudreau was coy after his team practiced on Wednesday, as they -- like Montreal -- will also play on Friday.
"I don't know who will be playing in goal tomorrow," he told reporters. "So everybody is assuming it will be Dubnyk. But, I mean, we have back-to-backs, and (Darcy Kuemper) played pretty good the last game. So we're going to talk about it, and see who goes (against Montreal)."
The Wild (19-8-4) is coming off a 2-0 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, extending its winning streak to eight games. It's the second-longest winning streak in team history, one shy of the record of nine games set back in March 2009. The team, which sits second in the Central Division, has yet to lose in regulation in December and is 10-1-3 in its last 14 games.
While Minnesota is getting the saves from its netminder, it's also getting its bang for its buck from offseason free-agent signing Eric Staal. The veteran center, who signed a one-year deal with the Wild, leads the team with 15 assists and 25 points. His 10 goals rank second on the team only to Charlie Coyle, who trails Staal overall by two points.
"It's always nice to play in Montreal, especially (right now), we're rolling, we're pretty hot," said defenseman and Montreal native Marco Scandella. "It's hard to win in the Bell Centre, so we're going to have to be ready, play our game and play some good road hockey."
The Canadiens, meanwhile, are coming off a big win of their own after holding off the Anaheim Ducks with a 5-1 win on Tuesday night, which saw Montreal (21-7-4) dominate the shot clock as well, 34-13.
"Everyone's working hard and we're not giving up a lot of chances," Paul Byron said after the game. "We played a smart game. We're playing against good teams and you don't want to give them space or chances to score."
Defenseman Jeff Petry matched a career high with a three-point night and was one of five different goal scorers. His efforts made the absence of veteran blue-liner Andrei Markov easier to absorb. Markov was injured on Saturday and won't play against the Wild; he's also unlikely to play on Friday and remains day-to-day.
"We're very happy with the way our team is playing but I'd say it's the group of leaders we have on our team that makes the coaches' jobs easier," head coach Michel Therrien said after practice on Wednesday. "We have a solid group of leaders who make sure that things are done the right way."
The Canadiens have not only been successful at keeping the puck out of their net, the offense has been finding ways to win, too. With Tuesday's victory, Montreal became the fourth NHL team this season to hit 100 goals and rank fourth in the league with an offense averaging 3.13 goals per game.
While Max Pacioretty has been heating up after a foot injury slowed him down in November, Byron has helped pick up the slack in the absence of center Alex Galchenyuk. Byron scored his 11th goal of the season in his 32nd game, matching his career high set last year -- in 62 games.
