Can The Habs Bounce Back Against the Jets Tonight?

The Habs are hoping to avoid another losing streak that extends past two games. After a very up-and-down month in November, they haven’t started December on a great foot either. Meanwhile, the Jets, who are without star netminder Connor Hellebuyck, who has a knee injury, are hoping to stop the bleeding in their own right as losers in 5 of their last 6 games.

Tonight’s game will feature two struggling Canadian teams hoping to get back on track, but only one will do so. Despite being on the 2nd game of a back-to-back, the Canadiens’ players should be hungry to have a good game against the Jets. Not to mention on Tuesday night, the Habs came out very flat and will hopefully want to prove themselves tonight. The same can be said by the Jets, who lost 5-1 to the Sabres on Monday.

Jakub Dobes will be getting the start for the Habs tonight. After a bad game against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, he will be looking to have a big game to put that terrible matchup behind him. It has been an up-and-down year for Dobes; however, he has still managed to be good in most of his matchups, which is more than we can say for Samuel Montembeault.

Since it is the 2nd game of a back-to-back, the Habs didn’t hold a morning skate, so all lineup changes or updates were announced at 4:30 pm ET, during Head Coach Martin St. Louis’ pregame presser. During the presser, he confirmed that forward Jared Davidson would be coming in the lineup for Florian Xhekaj, making it seem like they are going for a more skilled lineup.

As for the Jets goaltender, it is expected to be Eric Comrie. While Comrie has proven that he can be a solid backup that plays 20-25 games, since Hellebuyck went down with an injury, he has struggled acting as a starter. Comrie has posted a .875 save percentage and a 3.76 GAA in his last 5 starts.

With that being said, this game is looking like it may be a very high-scoring game, as the Habs’ defensive game is very shaky, while Comrie is struggling. Therefore, hammering the Over on tonight’s 6.5 goals total would be a good bet once again. The struggling Habs are listed as +100 even money home underdogs tonight against the Jets. Cole Caufield has recorded an assist in 7 straight games. Do you think he gets one tonight? His line to get 1+ assists is +130; with how well he’s been producing as a playmaker of late, this could be a great value pick for tonight’s game.

Hopefully the Canadiens show up ready to play and provide a great game in honour of Andrei Markov, who was an absolute warrior during his time with the team.

Do you think the Habs bounce back in tonight’s game?