northernlou
Idi Admin
Preview: Toronto at Montreal
7:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 27, 2016
Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
The Montreal Canadiens haven't had much go right after a strong start this season, but they can extend their dominance against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday when the Original Six rivals meet at the Bell Centre. Montreal, which is 2-0-1 after a disastrous 8-23-1 stretch, has won all three encounters with Tornoto this season and nine in a row overall.
Brendan Gallagher scored in his second straight game to increase his point total to eight (five goals, three assists) in nine contests as the Canadiens posted a 4-3 victory over Washington on Thursday. "We've been through some stuff here in the last (couple of) months but we still believe we're a pretty good hockey team," the 23-year-old Gallagher said. Toronto hardly is that, but former Canadien P.A. Parenteau scored and set up a goal on Thursday to help the team snap a four-game skid with a 3-1 triumph over Carolina. "I wish he'd slow it down a little bit so we could keep him," fellow forward Nazem Kadri said of Parenteau, who could be playing in his final contest for his current team with the trade deadline on the horizon (Monday).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, TVA, CITY (Montreal)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (21-28-10): Josh Leivo has picked up where he left off prior to suffering an upper-body injury on Feb. 11. The 22-year-old extended his goal-scoring streak to four contests by recording his first career game-winning tally on Thursday. Veteran Brad Boyes, who also scored versus the Hurricanes, has two goals and four assists in the last seven contests.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (29-27-5): Montreal continues to see its blue line decimated by the injury bug as Nathan Beaulieu is expected to be out two-to-three weeks with a lower-body ailment. The 17th overall pick of the 2011 draft, Beaulieu suffered the injury during Monday's 2-1 shootout loss to Nashville and joins fellow defensemen Jeff Petry (sports hernia) and Tom Gilbert (knee) on the sideline. Carey Price practiced on Friday, but the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy recipient is not expected to travel with the team on its upcoming road trip.
OVERTIME
1. Montreal C Alex Galchenyuk, who tallied twice versus the Capitals, recorded a goal and an assist in the season series with Toronto.
2. The Maple Leafs have scored a power-play goal in back-to-back contests after going 1-for-20 in the previous five.
3. Canadiens rookie G Mike Condon has yielded just six goals in his last three games (2-0-1), matching the sum total of his previous performance versus Arizona on Feb. 15.
Trends
Canadiens are 4-1 in their last 5 vs. Eastern Conference.
Maple Leafs are 15-39 in their last 54 vs. Atlantic.
http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nhl/matchups/g2_preview_10.html
7:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 27, 2016
Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
The Montreal Canadiens haven't had much go right after a strong start this season, but they can extend their dominance against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday when the Original Six rivals meet at the Bell Centre. Montreal, which is 2-0-1 after a disastrous 8-23-1 stretch, has won all three encounters with Tornoto this season and nine in a row overall.
Brendan Gallagher scored in his second straight game to increase his point total to eight (five goals, three assists) in nine contests as the Canadiens posted a 4-3 victory over Washington on Thursday. "We've been through some stuff here in the last (couple of) months but we still believe we're a pretty good hockey team," the 23-year-old Gallagher said. Toronto hardly is that, but former Canadien P.A. Parenteau scored and set up a goal on Thursday to help the team snap a four-game skid with a 3-1 triumph over Carolina. "I wish he'd slow it down a little bit so we could keep him," fellow forward Nazem Kadri said of Parenteau, who could be playing in his final contest for his current team with the trade deadline on the horizon (Monday).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, TVA, CITY (Montreal)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (21-28-10): Josh Leivo has picked up where he left off prior to suffering an upper-body injury on Feb. 11. The 22-year-old extended his goal-scoring streak to four contests by recording his first career game-winning tally on Thursday. Veteran Brad Boyes, who also scored versus the Hurricanes, has two goals and four assists in the last seven contests.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (29-27-5): Montreal continues to see its blue line decimated by the injury bug as Nathan Beaulieu is expected to be out two-to-three weeks with a lower-body ailment. The 17th overall pick of the 2011 draft, Beaulieu suffered the injury during Monday's 2-1 shootout loss to Nashville and joins fellow defensemen Jeff Petry (sports hernia) and Tom Gilbert (knee) on the sideline. Carey Price practiced on Friday, but the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy recipient is not expected to travel with the team on its upcoming road trip.
OVERTIME
1. Montreal C Alex Galchenyuk, who tallied twice versus the Capitals, recorded a goal and an assist in the season series with Toronto.
2. The Maple Leafs have scored a power-play goal in back-to-back contests after going 1-for-20 in the previous five.
3. Canadiens rookie G Mike Condon has yielded just six goals in his last three games (2-0-1), matching the sum total of his previous performance versus Arizona on Feb. 15.
Trends
Canadiens are 4-1 in their last 5 vs. Eastern Conference.
Maple Leafs are 15-39 in their last 54 vs. Atlantic.
http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nhl/matchups/g2_preview_10.html
