The Penguins will go for a season series win and try to take back first place in the Metropolitan Division when they take on the Canadiens tonight in Montreal.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will also try to get untracked as he plays against the team he cheered for as a youth. He has seven points in his last five games in Montreal. He’s scored just once in his last nine games.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: This will be the third and final meeting between the Penguins and Canadiens this season. The road team has won each game as the Pens shut out the Habs 4-0 in Montreal in November and the Canadiens returned the favor with a 4-1 win in Pittsburgh a week ago.
Beau Bennett had his best game of the season against the Canadiens in November with a goal, two assists and a plus-3 rating.
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This will be the ninth time former Penguins coach Michel Therrien has coached against his old squad. He is 4-3-1 in the previous eight games. Only eight Penguins remain from Therrein’s tenure: Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Craig Adams, Pascal Dupuis, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang, Rob Scuderi and Marc-Andre Fleury. Penguins assistant general manager Bill Guerin, player development coach Mark Recchi, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton assistant coach Alain Nasreddine also played for Therrein.
MEN IN MASKS: For the Penguins, Fleury is expected to start in his third consecutive game. He is 20-7-4 on the season with a .925 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average. In 31 career games against the Canadiens, he is 17-10-3 with a .895 save percentage and a 3.09 goals-against average. He has started both games against Montreal this season.
Carey Price will backstop the Canadiens tonight. The 27-year old British Columbia native has a 22-10-1 record, a .927 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average in 33 games this season. In 23 career games against Pittsburgh, he is 10-10-2 with a .906 save percentage and a 2.98 goals-against average.
FIRST NO MORE: Despite a five-game losing streak, the Penguins have been in first place in the Metropolitan Division for the last month. That came to an end Friday night when the New York Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils to pass the Pens with 55 points. The Penguins still have a game in hand on the Islanders, who play in Columbus tonight.
ROAD WOES: After starting the season 9-2-1 away from Consol Energy Center, the Penguins have lost five consecutive road games (0-2-3). A visit to the Bell Centre may be what ails the Pens. They’ve gone 4-1-1 in their last six games in Montreal, and are averaging four goals per game in that stretch.
HAPPY RETURNS: In addition to moving from last-place Edmonton to first-place Pittsburgh and getting to play on a line with Sidney Crosby, David Perron’s trade to the eastern conference will allow him to play much more frequently in his home province of Quebec.
In his nine-year NHL career, he has a goal and an assist in four appearances in Montreal. Under the league’s current schedule matrix, the Penguins alternate between playing one and two road games against the Canadiens every season.
BLURRED LINES: Kunitz will take back his place to the left of Crosby on the Penguins first line, with Perron switching to the right wing on that line. Steve Downie was bumped to the third line with Brandon Sutter and Bryan Rust.
“Certainly, we need some balance in our scoring, we need some balance in our depth of chances, and that’s what we’re trying to do with,” said Penguins head coach Mike Johnston.
THE 4077: Center Marcel Goc, who missed Wednesday’s overtime loss against Boston with an illness, is expected to be back in the Penguins lineup this evening.
UP AND DOWN: Forward Bobby Farnham was returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Thursday. Farnham had no points and 19 penalty minutes in ten games during his first NHL action.
MINOR MATTERS: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (20-14-4, 1st AHL East) were shutout 2-0 by the Norfolk Admirals on Friday, dropping both of a two-game home series. Matt Murray made 29 saves in the loss. The Penguins travel to Syracuse for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff tonight.
The Wheeling Nailers (15-16, 4th ECHL North) beat the Reading Royals 6-5 in a wild game at WesBanco Arena. There were seven lead changes in the back-and-forth affair. Franky Palazzese made 43 saves to earn the win. Chaz Johnson ahd two goals, Zack Torquato had a goal and three assists, and defenseman Morgan Ellis had the game-winning goal to go along with two assists. The Nailers were three-for-four on the power play. They host Elmira tonight at 7:35 p.m.
#CAWLIDGEHAWKEY: Robert Morris (13-4-4, 1st AHC) shutout Bentley 3-0. The Falcons will get a rematch tonight at 7:05 at 84 Lumber Arena on Neville Island.
The Penn State (9-7-2, 1st in Big Ten) lost a heartbreaker as they came from down 4-0 to tie Ohio State at four but lost in overtime, 5-4. Casey Bailey had a hat trick for the Nittany Lions. David Goodwin had a goal and two assists. The teams will meet again this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The game will be televised in the Pittsburgh area on MyTV 22.
Photo credit: NHL
