Habs Hungry To Bounce Back Against The Canucks

The Habs will be going back to Jakub Dobes in the nets again. Dobes currently leads the NHL in both save percentage (.950) and GAA (1.47) heading into tonight’s matchup. Meanwhile, backup Samuel Montembeault has been on the opposite end of the spectrum, struggling immensely to deliver the big saves for the Habs; he was one of the two major reasons for Thursday’s loss. Therefore, it is the right move to go back to Dobes. Hopefully, Dobes can have another brilliant performance in goal for the Habs tonight.

Thatcher Demko is expected to get the start for the Canucks tonight. He has a strong .927 save percentage and 2.24 GAA through 5 games so far this season. After missing most of last season, it seems that Demko is back in peak form, and it can pose a big challenge to the Canadiens tonight. However, Demko has had his struggles against the Canadiens during his career, posting a 5-4 record but a .899 save percentage and 3.42 GAA. It will be interesting to see what version of Demko the Habs play against tonight.

The Canadiens won’t be making any other changes to their lineup compared to who played on Thursday, as Joshua Roy and Marc Del Gaizo skated with Montembeault as the extras this morning. Honestly, the Habs could have inserted Roy back in for Kirby Dach or Joe Veleno, who weren’t very good, along with their linemate Zack Bolduc on Thursday, but like the rest of the team, they should be hungry to bounce back.

The Habs also announced around noon that Patrik Laine will be out of action for the next 3-4 months after receiving surgery on a sports hernia. Laine had missed the last 4 games with a lower-body injury that had previously been listed as day-to-day. This is a very tough blow for Laine, who was hoping to have a big year in the final year of his contract that pays him $8.7 million a season. Despite the injury, it allows the Canadiens to continue to run a more balanced lineup where they can actually have a shutdown 4th line of Brendan Gallagher, Jake Evans, and Josh Anderson, who have been really good together the last few games.

The Habs won both meetings against the Canucks last season, which included a 4-2 victory on the road. They are listed as even money at +100 to win tonight’s game on the road. Nick Suzuki was especially good last year against the Canucks, where he potted a goal in each meeting and 5 points in 2 games. He is set at +200 to score a goal and +185 to record 2+ points. Suzuki is also on an 8-game point that he will be looking to continue tonight. When it comes to betting trends for Total bettors, given the goaltender matchup tonight, taking the Under 5.5 goals seems like a smart play.

The players to watch tonight will certainly be Quinn Hughes, who can be a game breaker at any point in the game, and Brock Boeser, whose shot is always a threat when he plays. The Canadiens will also need to keep their eye on Elias Pettersson, who can break out for a big game at any time.

Tonight’s game should be a hard-fought matchup between two hungry teams that hope to get back into the win column.

What are your predictions for tonight’s game?