Game preview: Canadiens host Lightning, aim for second straight win

November 7, 3:11 AMMontreal Canadiens ExaminerHeather Engel

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With seven of eight wins coming in overtime/shootout, the Canadiens
and fans have been on the edge of their seats. (AP/Graham Hughes)

Where: Bell Centre
When: 7 PM EST
TV: CBC (Quebec only); RDS; Sun Sports

Finally, a win on the road. Now the Canadiens are back in the comforts of home and with the Tampa Bay Lightning in town, are looking for back-to-back victories for the first time since Oct. 26.

Carey Price’s 50th career win on Thursday night was one of his best outings since arriving in the NHL. The 22-year-old made 42 saves to keep his teammates in the game and then closed the door in the shootout to improve the Habs’ tiebreaker record to 7-0.

After holding opponents to 23 shots on goal or less during the recent four-game winning streak, more pucks have been finding their way to the net of late. Dating back to their meeting with Pittsburgh (Oct. 28), Price and crease-mate Jaroslav Halak have been bombarded with an average of 35.2 shots in the last five games.

Jacques Martin's lineup is expected to remain status quo, meaning Price will make his second straight start and rookies Tom Pyatt and Ryan White will likely draw in once again. New acquisition Jay Leach skated with his new teammates this morning, but isn't expected to play.

A look at the Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning has endured a mediocre first month of the season. A 5-4-5 record has the club second in the Southeast but while the team has managed to put up the points at home (4-0-3), it’s going through a rough ride as the visiting team. Tuesday night, Rick Tocchet’s squad picked up its first road win of the season in a 2-1 overtime triumph in Toronto.

While Steven Stamkos is generating plenty of buzz for his hot start to 2009-10, teammate Vincent Lecavalier has been a hot topic for the exact opposite reason with just two goals on his resume this season. Martin St. Louis hasn’t fared much better, tallying only three times in 14 games; the speedy winger hasn’t netted one since Oct. 12 against Florida, a stretch of nine games.

Despite not finding the back of the net, St. Louis and Lecavalier are finding their teammates for passes; the duo leads Tampa Bay in assists with 13 and 10, respectively. Perhaps a visit to Montreal will cure their offensive woes Lecavalier has 30 points in 39 career games against the Habs while St. Louis has racked up 25 in 31.

Canadiens fans hoping to get a look at rookie defenceman Victor Hedman in a Bolts jersey will have to wait until the Lightning return in March. The second pick at the 2009 draft took a hard hit from Ottawa’s Chris Neil on Thursday and is day-to-day with a concussion.

Montreal and Tampa Bay split the 2008-09 season series, with each club winning once at home and once on the road.

Steven Stamkos has had plenty to celebrate so far this
season. (AP/Chris O'Meara)

Shooting gallery: Lightning goaltender Antero Niittymaki and his teammates will want to be alert tonight because when the Canadiens play at the Bell Centre, they enjoy tossing the puck on net. Montreal has taken at least 30 shots in seven of their eight home games thus far, and the lone night below that mark wasn’t that far off, at 28 shots.

While Nittymaki is off to a good start, his numbers against the Canadiens are anything but favourable. The Finnish netminder owns a 1-8-0-1 career record, 3.53 goals-against average, and .881 save percentage against Montreal.

Seen Stamkos?: After a disappointing first half last season, Stamkos went on a tear after the All-Star break, racking up 17 goals and 28 points in 34 games. He’s continued on that run to start his sophomore campaign. The top pick in 2008 leads the Lightning with 17 points in 14 games and six of his team-best 12 goals (fourth in the NHL) have come on the power play.

Other game notes:

• Tonight’s matchup marks Alex Tanguay’s return to Montreal. Tanguay, who’s had a slow start in Tampa, was one of the Canadiens’ best players before suffering a shoulder injury, ironically against the Lightning.
• Roman Hamrlik continues to be a workhorse on the blue line. On Thursday night, he eclipsed his previous season high of 28:03 of ice time (set Tuesday), logging 29:44 over 36 shifts.
• Milestone watch: Tomas Plekanec is two points shy of 200 in his career while Marc-Andre Bergeron is just one assist away from 100 in his career.

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