Game preview and how to watch
Game 62: Montreal Canadiens @ Los Angeles Kings
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Kings region: FanDuel Sports Network West, KCAL
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
The Montreal Canadiens have gone into California for their annual road trip and proven just how good their offence is. They’ve scored 10 goals in their first two games, and came back from multiple goals on each occasion, turning a 5-2 deficit into a 5-5 tie in the third period on Tuesday in San Jose, and last night putting themselves into a lead with another three-goal performance in the final frame. Yet they only have a single point to show for it because they allowed seven goals in the opening game, and another five last night in a match they eventually lost in a shootout.
With just a little bit more focused defending and a few timely saves, they would have won both of those games, but now they’re trying to salvage the road trip by getting a single win tonight versus the Los Angeles Kings. The bad news is that they also allowed five goals to the Kings when the teams first met back in November, and don’t have a win versus Los Angeles since before the COVID pause, a streak of losses that reached nine earlier this season. In that time, the Canadiens have scored more than two goals one time, struggling with the defensive structure Los Angeles plays with.
This season should be offering the best chance for Montreal to end the losing streak, with Los Angeles claiming just 25 wins to this point. Normally known for their strong defence, they allow closer to three goals per game than the two-and-a-half they did the past two seasons, and without a potent offence, that has resulted in a -22 goal differential. They currently trail the second wild-card team in the Western Conference by three points with just 64 to their name through 61 games. They’re on pace for 86 points after finishing with between 99 and 105 the last four seasons, and just fired head coach Jim Hiller because of that underperformance.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Kings |
|---|---|---|
| 33-18-10 | Record | 25-22-14 |
| 48.6% (23rd) | Expected-goal share | 51.2% (12th) |
| 3.54 (2nd) | Goals per game | 2.56 (30th) |
| 3.30 (24th) | Goals against per game | 2.89 (10th) |
| 24.7% (7th) | PP% | 17.0% (26th) |
| 76.3% (27th) | PK% | 75.6% (28th) |
| 0-1-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-0-0 |
| Cole Caufield (37) | Most goals | Adrian Kempe (23) |
| Lane Hutson (52) | Most assists | Adrian Kempe (29) |
| Nick Suzuki (71) | Most points | Adrian Kempe (52) |
They have received an offensive boost thanks to Artemiy Panarin essentially trading himself to Los Angeles, giving the New York Rangers a one-team list to work with as he moves from one low-scrutiny market to another. That’s a welcome offensive boon to a club that is tied for the second-lowest goal total this season, although they’ve still managed two or fewer goals in the three games since his arrival.
Given what we’ve seen the last couple of games, he’s probably set to have his breakout performance today. Montreal has already allowed both Macklin Celebrini and Chris Kreider to have four-point games against them this week, and the Kings always seem to outperform their season average versus Montreal even in seasons when the Habs get solid goaltending. Over the last five seasons, their per-game average is 3.00 goals; in the nine-game winning streak versus Montreal, that number is 4.22.
You have to believe that the performance of the first two games of the trip will inspire a stronger defensive effort from Montreal tonight. Jakub Dobeš will be looking for a better performance as well after seeing his 11-game streak of earning at least a point come to end with six goals allowed in San Jose, while the defence can’t be happy with all the breakdowns its been responsible for. Los Angeles is the lowest-ranked of the three California teams and the least dangerous offensively, so this is a game the Canadiens should be able to win, and take at least a mediocre haul of three points back with them to Montreal.
