northernlou
Idi Admin
Preview: Montreal at Minnesota
8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
The Montreal Canadiens can't seem to locate their offense, but a horrific 1-8-0 mark has taken its toll on their lead in the Atlantic Division. With just 14 goals in their last nine games, the Canadiens look to strengthen their tenuous grasp on first place when they visit the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
The Canadiens' latest power outage came in Music City, as Alex Galchenyuk's power-play goal was just his second point in seven games as Montreal dropped a 5-1 decision to Nashville on Monday. While the Canadiens have been outscored 17-4 during their four-game slide, Minnesota has dropped two in a row following a blistering 6-0-3 stretch. Defenseman Jared Spurgeon scored a goal in a 6-3 setback to Central Division-leading Dallas on Monday - hours after signing a four-year, $20.75 million contract extension. The 26-year-old has recorded two tallies and an assist in his last six games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet East, RDS (Montreal)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (20-12-3): After providing a brief jolt when reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner Carey Price initially was sidelined, Mike Condon will look to sort out his troubles and get back on track Tuesday. The rookie dropped his fifth straight start in brutal fashion, yielding a season-high six goals on 23 shots versus Dallas on Saturday. Max Pacioretty notched an assist versus the Predators for his second point in nine contests, but the captain has registered five goals and an assist in five career meetings with Minnesota.
ABOUT THE WILD (17-9-6): Darcy Kuemper, who is expected to get the nod on Tuesday, filled in admirably during Devan Dubnyk's recent absence due to a mild groin strain. The 25-year-old Saskatchewan native permitted just six goals during last five outings to improve to 3-0-4 on the season. On the offensive end, Nino Niederreiter snapped a 15-game goal drought by scoring versus Dallas and has notched four points in his last four contests.
OVERTIME
1. Montreal has scored a power-play goal in two straight contests after going 0-for-20 in its previous seven.
2. Minnesota LW Zach Parise and captain Mikko Koivu saw their respective seven- and four-game point streaks come to an end Monday.
3. The Canadiens have scored three or fewer goals in each of their last 12 games.
Trends
Home team is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.
http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nhl/matchups/g2_preview_14.html
8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
The Montreal Canadiens can't seem to locate their offense, but a horrific 1-8-0 mark has taken its toll on their lead in the Atlantic Division. With just 14 goals in their last nine games, the Canadiens look to strengthen their tenuous grasp on first place when they visit the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
The Canadiens' latest power outage came in Music City, as Alex Galchenyuk's power-play goal was just his second point in seven games as Montreal dropped a 5-1 decision to Nashville on Monday. While the Canadiens have been outscored 17-4 during their four-game slide, Minnesota has dropped two in a row following a blistering 6-0-3 stretch. Defenseman Jared Spurgeon scored a goal in a 6-3 setback to Central Division-leading Dallas on Monday - hours after signing a four-year, $20.75 million contract extension. The 26-year-old has recorded two tallies and an assist in his last six games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet East, RDS (Montreal)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (20-12-3): After providing a brief jolt when reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner Carey Price initially was sidelined, Mike Condon will look to sort out his troubles and get back on track Tuesday. The rookie dropped his fifth straight start in brutal fashion, yielding a season-high six goals on 23 shots versus Dallas on Saturday. Max Pacioretty notched an assist versus the Predators for his second point in nine contests, but the captain has registered five goals and an assist in five career meetings with Minnesota.
ABOUT THE WILD (17-9-6): Darcy Kuemper, who is expected to get the nod on Tuesday, filled in admirably during Devan Dubnyk's recent absence due to a mild groin strain. The 25-year-old Saskatchewan native permitted just six goals during last five outings to improve to 3-0-4 on the season. On the offensive end, Nino Niederreiter snapped a 15-game goal drought by scoring versus Dallas and has notched four points in his last four contests.
OVERTIME
1. Montreal has scored a power-play goal in two straight contests after going 0-for-20 in its previous seven.
2. Minnesota LW Zach Parise and captain Mikko Koivu saw their respective seven- and four-game point streaks come to an end Monday.
3. The Canadiens have scored three or fewer goals in each of their last 12 games.
Trends
Home team is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.
http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nhl/matchups/g2_preview_14.html
