Nick Suzuki was back on the ice at Monday’s Canadiens practice, but Montreal is still going to be without its captain when Winnipeg comes to town Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
Suzuki, who has been sidelined for just shy of two weeks after getting hurt against the San Jose Sharks, skated between Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky. Even with that encouraging sight, the Canadiens confirmed he will not suit up against the Jets.
The matchup is the second meeting between these teams in a little over a week, following the Heritage Classic. Winnipeg controlled plenty of the puck in that outdoor game and fired 34 shots on goal, but Jacob Fowler stood tall, giving up just one goal as Montreal came away with a 2-1 win. The Canadiens will also have a different look Tuesday, debuting their Hometown Remix jerseys after the new threads were unveiled yesterday to mixed reactions.
Fowler gets the nod again in net, despite the fact that his last outing wasn’t his sharpest. Jakub Dobes could have been sent back in, but the coach stuck with Fowler, whose recent run has earned him some breathing room. Since being called up from the Laval Rocket, he was named NHL rookie of the month in October and won the Molson Cup.
The numbers against Winnipeg have been kind to both Montreal goalies. Fowler owns a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage against the Jets after his Heritage Classic performance, while Dobes has a 1.38 GAA and a .938 save percentage after a 3-2 shootout win last March.
Winnipeg’s goaltending picture is less settled. Stuart Skinner would likely want another crack at Montreal after the outdoor loss, but he was beaten for five goals in Sunday’s 7-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
He’s 4-3-0 against the Canadiens with a 2.72 GAA and an .893 save percentage. The Jets also have Nico Daws on the roster, and he’s 2-1-0 against Montreal with a 2.68 GAA and a .901 save percentage.
Clay Stevenson has never faced the Canadiens.
Montreal’s attack has had success against this opponent too. Phillip Danault leads all Habs skaters with 24 points in 32 games against Winnipeg, followed by Suzuki with 17 in 21 and Josh Anderson with 17 in 26.
Chris Kreider sits next with 16 points in 27 games. Anderson and Kreider both come in after multi-point nights against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
Caufield has nine points in 12 games against the Jets, including two assists last week, but Winnipeg is still the one NHL team he has never scored against.
On the other side, Kyle Connor has been a problem for Montreal with 29 points in 25 games. Mark Scheifele has 26 in 33, and Nino Niederreiter rounds out the top three with 18 in 32. Scheifele will have Fowler on his mind after the goalie stopped him seven times at the Heritage Classic, including a couple of looks skyward as he searched for a way through.
The Canadiens have taken six of the last 10 meetings and have won the last three. Montreal enters with 20 points and sits fifth in the league, with games in hand on the top four teams. Winnipeg is 28th overall, has lost five straight, and is 1-7-2 in its last 10.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM. The game will be on RDS in French and TSN 2 in English. Alex Lepkowski and Chris Rooney will referee, with Shandor Alphonso and Jonathan Deschamps working the lines.
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