Montreal Canadiens vs Minnesota Wild
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 12, 2017
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet, RDS (Montreal)
PREDICTION: Wild 3, Canadiens 1

Oddsmakers currently have the MONTREAL listed as 130-moneyline favorites versus the MINNESOTA, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Montreal Canadiens scored seven times in beating the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday and are fifth in the league in goals per game. The Minnesota Wild are just ahead, fourth in the league with 3.13 goals per game.

The two teams will likely have a hard time finding the back of the net as they meet Thursday in Minnesota.

The Wild, coming off a West Coast swing in which they went 2-0-1, will likely have goaltender Devan Dubnyk between the pipes for a matchup with Montreal’s Carey Price.

Price is considered by many as the top goaltender in the NHL, and he backs up the talk with a 2.12 goals-against average (sixth in the league) and .928 save percentage (fifth). Dubnyk, however, holds the statistical advantage this season with league-bests 1.80 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.

Dubnyk was named to his second straight All-Star Game on Tuesday and he’s won 12 of his past 13 games as Minnesota has climbed to within four points of Central-leading Chicago.

“You don’t do that for 82 games ever,” Dubnyk told the Minneapolis Star Tribune of his first 27 starts. “There’s always going to be some lulls. And fortunately, two of the three (tough starts in the past four games) we were able to score five and six goals, so we’ll take those.

“But, it’s nice to get out there and remember what it feels like to give up one, and not four.”

Dubnyk had not allowed four goals all season until Dec. 29 against the Islanders. But he gave up four goals in three straight games before allowing just one against the Anaheim Ducks s Minnesota finished its strong West coast swing. The Wild still won two of the three games in which Dubnyk allowed four goals.

“This is, if not the toughest, for sure, one of the toughest trips every year,” Minnesota center Mikko Koivu told the Star Tribune. “All three teams, they play hard, they play good two-way hockey.”

Strong two-way hockey has defined the Wild and Canadiens.

Minnesota has the fourth-most goals per game and is allowing the second fewest per game (2.13). The Canadiens are fifth in scoring at 3.12 goals per game and fifth in the fewest allowed (2.38).

In the first game of the back-to-back, Montreal got two goals each from Phillip Danault and Artturi Lehkonen. Danault scored a highlight-reel goal in skating the length of the ice and weaving between four defenders before scoring with a quick shot.

“You don’t see those types of goals very often in the NHL,” coach Michel Therrien told NHL.com. “For the young kid, it’s good for his confidence. He’s playing really well. There’s a reason we put him out there. He was always a good skater, he can move the puck and protect the puck well and he’s responsible at both sides of the ice.”

Danault has stepped up as the No. 1 center with the Canadiens deal with a glut of injuries. Montreal is playing without forwards Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, David Desharnais and Andrew Shaw, and defenseman Andrei Markov.

“For us, I’ll say that we want to play our game,” Therrien told NHL.com after Wednesday’s game. “We want to play a fast-paced game and we want to dictate from the start and move on from our last game (a 4-1 home loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday). And this is what we did. First shift set the tone of the game and we went from there.”

Al Montoya earned the win in net on Wednesday with 23 saves, setting up the Price-Dubnyk matchup.

It will be the second time the two teams, and goalies, will meet. The Wild won 4-2 in Montreal on Dec. 22 as Eric Staal scored a shorthanded goal.

Coincidentally, Montoya is 5-0 against Minnesota with six goals allowed, while Price is 4-4 in his career against the Wild with a 2.51 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in eight starts.

Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau, with three days off since beating Anaheim, gave his older players Wednesday off.

“I thought (Tuesday’s practice) was a real good day,” Boudreau told the Star Tribune, “and (today) was sort of an experiment. I don’t know how it’s going to work or if it’s not going to work. But with all the games that we’ve got now, … so we wanted to give a couple of our older players and/or guys that get a lot of ice time a little bit of a break today and see how it works out for (Thursday’s) game and whether it’s something we’ll continue to do.”

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Montreal Canadiens vs Winnipeg Jets
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Where: MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RDS (Montreal), Sportsnet (Winnipeg)
PREDICTION: Canadiens 4, Jets 3

Oddsmakers currently have the MONTREAL listed as -110-moneyline favorites versus the WINNIPEG, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Winnipeg Jets are hoping they can continue scoring by committee until their top sniper returns to the line-up.

The Jets used goals by defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and right winger Blake Wheeler to defeat the Calgary Flames 2-0 at the MTS Centre on Monday night, but other players are hoping to step up into the void left by Patrik Laine’s concussion when they challenge the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old rookie, who has 21 goals this season, has been off the ice since being rocked by an open-ice hit from Buffalo’s Jake McCabe on the weekend.

Drew Stafford, who moved up from the fourth line into Laine’s spot alongside left winger Nik Ehlers and center Mark Scheifele, is planning to carry at least his share of the load. The Milwaukee native scored 21 for the Jets last year and notched 31 in the 2010-11 season. He has bulged the twine just three times this season, although he did miss 15 games due to injury.

“This is something I’ve been doing my whole career,” the 31-year-old told the Winnipeg Free Press. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity and will do my best to help this team in whatever way I can and contribute and help win games. If that’s playing there and hopefully providing some offence, it’s something I look forward to and relish the opportunity.”

Stafford assisted on Byfuglien’s goal on Monday night.

Even though Laine wasn’t on the ice yesterday, he did generate some headlines with news that he has been selected to play in the NHL all-star game later this month in Los Angeles. The Jets have not set any timetable for his return but he has been spotted in civvies and smiling during practices. He watched the Calgary game from the press box with his girlfriend.

The Canadiens canceled practice Tuesday morning following their 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals the night before. The Habs will be well-represented in Los Angeles with coach Michel Therrien, defenseman Shea Weber and goalie Carey Price selected for the mid-season festivities.

The netminder, who backstopped Canada to victory in the World Cup in the fall and the 2014 Olympics, hasn’t displayed his all-world form lately, allowing three or more goals in five of his last six starts.

The Canadiens have a 1-2-2 record in those five games and while his overall record remains stellar at 20-6-4, he is ranked fifth in the NHL in save percentage (.928) and sixth in goals-against average (2.12).

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that Price wouldn’t set the hockey world on fire this year considering he missed almost all of last season with a serious knee injury.

The Habs were tearing up the league when Price went down in late November immediately went into free-fall, missing the playoffs.

Therrien said even if Price doesn’t play out of his mind this year, he expects his troops to be better equipped to weather any storms.

“Big difference (from last year),” the coach told the Montreal Gazette. “First of all, I’ll say the leadership group is doing a fantastic job. Kids are coming into a really different atmosphere. The team spirit has been great since Day 1 and the leadership group is doing a fantastic job.”

The Canadiens will fly out immediately after Wednesday’s game in advance of meeting the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. It’s expected Al Montoya, who played two seasons with the Jets from 2012-14, will start one of those games.

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The Montreal Canadiens’ captain was left off this year’s All-Star roster despite being one of the league’s most consistent scoring threats.

He built a strong case for this month’s event in Los Angeles, right there among the league leaders with 19 goals and he’s been on a roll since the middle of November.

The 28-year-old’s star power still needs a boost, falling well short of his production on the ice.

Only three players have scored more goals (173) than the American winger since 2011: Alex Ovechkin (243), Steven Stamkos (202) and Joe Pavelski (178).

His 129 even-strength goals are bettered only by superstars Ovechkin (139) and Stamkos (139).

”I don’t know about (the media), but we don’t (take him for granted),” Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said recently. ”We appreciate what he’s capable (of doing). The last two months he’s been phenomenal with us.”

After a slow start – just two goals in the first 14 games – Pacioretty has been on a roll.

He’s tied with Sidney Crosby and Jeff Carter for the NHL lead in goals since Nov. 12 with 17. He scored four in three games last week, including back-to-back overtime winners, the second one giving him the franchise lead in OT goals.

His 38 winning goals over the past five-plus seasons trail only Ovechkin’s 42.

Therrien raved about his play, pointing to his ”passion” in particular, and positive influence on the dressing room of the first-place Canadiens.

”He wants to make a difference every game,” Therrien said of Pacioretty, on pace to hit 38 goals and establish a career best with 68 points. ”And he’s doing a hell of a job for us.”

Teammate Mark Barberio thought Pacioretty’s consistency as a scorer – in an era when goals continue to trend downward and goalies get bigger and better – was underrated.

In fact, Pacioretty has been one of the league’s most consistent scoring threats, one of only four players to hit 30 goals in each of the previous four full seasons – the others being Ovechkin, Pavelski and the Ducks’ Corey Perry.

Yet, he’s rarely in the conversation of the league’s top players.

He has probably been overshadowed by star teammates Carey Price, P.K. Subban, Shea Weber and Alex Radulov. He’s also never been the best or even second-best player on his team and his game lacks the sizzle of Ovechkin or Stamkos.

While he may not be flashy, Pacioretty is plenty effective.

Formerly of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Barberio joined the Habs last year and was struck by the quickness of his new teammate’s release, describing his shot as ”world-class”.

”He’s deceptive,” Barberio said. ”And when he brings it to the net he brings it with a lot of force and I think that’s what surprises goalies the most.”

”Not everybody has a shot like that,” he added. ”There’s (only) a few guys in the league that can just beat a goalie clean one-on-one and he’s definitely one of them. We’re lucky to have him.”

Pacioretty’s wrist shot, in particular, has been the NHL’s most potent over the past six seasons. He tops all players with 111 goals on his wrist shot in that span, trailing only the Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko and Jets’ Mark Scheifele with 12 this season.

Pacioretty doesn’t just score either. Underlying stats that suggest he’s one of the more effective penalty-killing forwards in the NHL, albeit in a secondary role. He’s also one of Montreal’s top puck possession players (53.8 percent), a long 6-foot-2, 215-pound winger who’s spent the season with a variety of linemates because of injuries for the Habs.

Only one Atlantic Division forward, Toronto’s Auston Matthews, has more goals than Pacioretty so far and, heading into Tuesday’s games, only three had more than his 34 points (Nikita Kucherov, Brad Marchand and Matthews).

But it was not enough to earn him a first-time All-Star nod with Price and Weber both garnering spots for Montreal.

”Maybe he flies under the radar but not in this room,” Barberio said. ”We know what he brings.”

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Montreal Canadiens vs. Dallas Stars
When: 8:00 PM  ET, Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, Sportsnet 360, RDS (Montreal), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
PREDICTION: Stars 3, Canadiens 2

Odds aren’t yet posted for this game, so check back later for the opening line and total.

DALLAS — The Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars meet Wednesday night at American Airlines Center with both clubs seeking closure of some sort.

Montreal (23-9-6), which won 2-1 in overtime at Nashville on Tuesday, looks to finish its current seven-game road trip strong.

The Canadiens, who are 8-6-4 on the road, are 2-3-0 with two games remaining on their current trek which concludes Saturday in Toronto.

Tuesday’s game against the Predators marked the first contest in Nashville for Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber since he was traded to Montreal last summer. Weber was moved during a first-period video tribute and ended up scoring the tying goal early in the third period.

“Obviously, it’s very special to be back in this building, and it’s even more special to win the game,” Weber told the media postgame.

This is the Canadiens’ seventh back-to-back this season and Montreal is 5-1-0 in the second game of its previous back-to-backs.

Carey Price started in goal Tuesday and stopped 22 shots.

Considering his rather light workload Tuesday, Canadiens coach Michael Thierren could go with Price again between the pipes or he could turn to backup netminder Al Montoya to start against the Stars.

The Stars (16-15-7) look to finish a three-game homestand and a run where they played eight of their last nine on home ice with a victory.

The Stars last played Saturday night, when they fell 3-1 to the Florida Panthers at home. Florida blitzed Dallas for three goals in the first period and the Stars never recovered.

But the big story from that loss was that captain Jamie Benn injured his foot after the stick of Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk got caught in his skate as he assisted on the Stars goal, scored by Patrick Eaves in the second period.

The Dallas players had Sunday off and Benn was unable to skate Monday or Tuesday, so Stars coach Lindy Ruff ruled his captain out for the lone visit of the regular season from the Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens.

“Well, the only update is he’s still day-to-day, but he won’t play tomorrow. Didn’t practice today, so we’re still treating it as day-to-day,” Ruff said Tuesday of Benn.

Dallas, which is 11-6-3 at home, dealt with a rash of injuries for much of this season, so Ruff has considerable experience at juggling his lines and finding players to step in for their injured teammates.

Of course, few of those players are a former Art Ross Trophy winner or perennial NHL All-Star such as Benn. But again, Ruff takes the cards he’s dealt and makes the best of what everyone close to the organization hopes is a short-term situation with Benn on the sidelines.

“Again, we’re going to have to find ways to win games,” Ruff said. “There’s a lot of injuries around the league. We’ve been hit hard with them and Jamie’s another one, but we have to plug a guy in his spot. We’ve got some guys that are coming back now, so someone’s going to have to pick up the slack for him.”

And one of those players returning is gritty forward Antoine Roussel, out the previous four games with an upper-body injury.

However, Roussel practiced without issue Tuesday, leading Ruff to term him as probable for Wednesday’s contest.

“I am not sure if I am in tomorrow, but I am pretty close to a return,” Roussel said. “It’s just about getting some physical contact and getting there. I feel pretty good, skated pretty well. Really hoping to come back tomorrow, if not then the next game.”

As for this stretch of games at home, Dallas went 4-2-1 and veteran center Jason Spezza speaks for the entire room when he says they’d definitely like to end this run of games mostly at home on a high with a win.

“Yeah, we talked about trying to make up some ground,” Spezza said. “We have and now we have a chance to finish with a sixth win. It’d be good for our confidence for sure.”

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Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 17, 2016
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District Of Columbia

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, TVAS, CITY (Montreal), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
PREDICTION: Capitals 4, Canadiens 2

Oddsmakers currently have the Capitals listed as 135-moneyline favorites versus the Canadiens, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals go for their seventh straight win Saturday night against a Montreal Canadiens team looking to avoid a third straight loss.

T.J. Oshie scored the tying goal in the third period and added one of Washington’s two shootout scores as the Capitals (19-7-3) won at Carolina, 4-3 on Friday night for their sixth win a row.

It was Oshie’s 37th career shootout goal and his third-period tally was his 10th of the season. Oshie missed seven games with an upper-body injury — during which time the Capitals went 3-3-1 — and Washington’s winning streak coincides with his return.

“He’s a big part of our team. There’s no question,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz told the Washington Post. “We missed his ability on the power play. He’s one of the best on that diamond spot. Just what he brings to the team all over, energy and just his personality and all that.”

That power play clicking once again. The Capitals have scored a power-play goal in six of their last seven games and have scored 13 in their last 14 games. Alex Ovechkin scored with the man advantage Friday night, his 14th goal of the season.

The Canadiens fell behind 4-0 to the San Jose Sharks at home Friday night before scoring twice in the third period of a 4-2 loss.

“We know we have to be better, play with more urgency early on, stay out of the box and roll four lines,” Montreal’s Max Pacioretty said. “Just dug too big of a hole to dig ourselves out of.”

Montreal (19-7-4) got third-period goals from Brian Flynn and Jeff Petry.

“It’s unacceptable,” Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu said of the slow start. “But I liked the way we finished, and we’ve got to carry that over to (Saturday) in Washington.”

Goalie Carey Price allowed four goals on 18 shots before being replaced by Al Montoya, who had been slated to start versus Washington. It was the first time since Oct. 13, 2014 that Price was pulled from a game.

Coach Michel Therrien announced after the game that Price would now get the start against the Capitals.

“Pricey didn’t get pulled because he wasn’t good enough,” Beaulieu said. “He’s the best player in the world and he’s our best player. It had nothing to do with him — it was us. Sometimes we need a wake-up call.”

Back-up Philipp Grubauer was in goal Friday for Washington, and Braden Holtby will start against the Canadiens. He’s 8-0-2 in 11 games against them with a 1.60 goals against average and a .944 save percentage.

Ovechkin has 22 goals and 18 assists in 39 games versus Montreal.

Justin Williams also scored for Washington against the Hurricanes. After scoring two goals in 23 games, he has five goals in his last five games.

“Yes, the last few games we’ve won, but we’ve just played better,” Williams added. “And we didn’t give up when some calls didn’t go our way. That’s just the way it is sometimes and you have to battle through it. I love the way we persevered.”

Price is 5-9-4 in 18 games versus Washington with a 3.08 GAA and .898 save percentage.

Montreal winger Andrew Shaw was a late scratch Friday, as the team announced he would miss the game with concussion-like symptoms that developed late Thursday afternoon. He won’t make the trip to Washington.

Canadiens winger Sven Andrighetto left the game against San Jose in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return. He was also ruled out for Saturday’s game, leading the Canadiens to call up forward Chris Terry from the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps after the game.

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Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, December 12, 2016
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet, NESN (Boston), RDS (Montreal)
PREDICTION: Canadiens 3, Bruins 2

Oddsmakers currently have the Canadiens listed as 145-moneyline favorites versus the Bruins, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens’ offense is on fire. The Boston Bruins are hoping wholesale line changes ignite a spark of their own as they get set to clash with their long-time rivals on Monday night at the Bell Centre.

Coming off a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs a night earlier and with a tilt against the Montreal looming, Bruins coach Claude Julien re-arranged his forward corps on Sunday in an effort to jumpstart an offense that’s averaging just 2.2 goals in six games thus far in December.

David Backes was bumped up to the top line alongside center Patrice Bergeron and left wing Brad Marchand in place of David Pastrnak, who found himself with David Krejci and Tim Schaller. Danton Heinen, called up ahead of Saturday’s game, skated with Ryan Spooner in the middle and Austin Czarnik and Jimmy Hayes alternating on the right side.

“I think sometimes the changes can create some excitement,” Julien told reporters after practice Sunday afternoon. “It’s not the first time, probably won’t be the last time, that we’ve changed. This is just more of a whole overhaul is what you’d call it, versus just changing one or two. Hopefully we’ll get what we’re looking for.”

The Bruins rank in the bottom third of the NHL in goals for, with just 67 on the season. They’ve scored more than three goals just twice in their past seven games, winning only one of those. The power play well has also run dry this month, with just one goal on 15 opportunities.

But it’s not for a lack of effort. Boston has tossed at least 30 shots on goal in nine straight games.

“Offensive frustration is warranted at this point,” Backes told the Boston Globe. “We just haven’t done a good enough job scoring goals.”

The Canadiens, meanwhile, are clicking offensively, scoring at least four goals in three of their last four games. This despite their forward depth taking a hit with long-term injuries to centers Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais.

Montreal exploded for six goals in the first period en route to a 10-1 thrashing of the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. Max Pacioretty, whose goal-scoring struggles were a storyline for the better part of the first two months of the season, scored four goals to take over the team lead. And center Tomas Plekanec, elevated to the top line due to the injuries, recorded four assists and has looked better of late in a season of offensive struggles.

Against Colorado, nine of the 10 goals were at even strength and every line contributed, including fourth liner Brian Flynn connecting for his first two goals of the season.

“When we roll four lines and we skate, I keep saying this, but it’s really hard to defend,” Pacioretty said after the game. “Sometimes teams get a break from speed when the third or fourth line goes out there but not when you play against us. We have four lines that can skate, three sets of D that can skate. When we make it hard on defensemen and teams early, it’s really hard for them to catch up, and pretty much every game we’ve won has been because of that.”

It’s the third meeting of the season between the Canadiens and Bruins, and the final time Boston will visit Montreal this regular season. The Canadiens won the first two meetings.

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New Jersey Devils vs Montreal Canadiens
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus2 (New Jersey), SN360, RDS (Montreal)
PREDICTION: Canadiens 3, Devils 1

MONTREAL — It’s said that home is where the heart is. For the Montreal Canadiens, it’s also where the wins are.

A .500 team as the opposition, Montreal (17-6-3) has been dominant at the Bell Centre this season, where they’ve won 12 of 14 games and lost for the first time in regulation just a few weeks ago. Now, after a five-game road trip, they kick off a four-game homestand that begins with a tilt against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

The Canadiens are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues to close out the trip, a point lost after holding a 2-0 lead in the game. But while the team earned half of the 10 points on the table during their road trip, they’re pleased with their efforts overall.

“We wanted to do better and we wanted to come up with that win (in St. Louis) and get that extra point, but all of these games we battled really hard,” Max Pacioretty told reporters after the game. “It’s not always going to go your way. It’s not always going to be perfect. But, we liked the effort every night.”

The Canadiens have been relatively healthy through the first couple of months of the season but lately, the injury bug has begun to take a bite out of the group. After Alex Galchenyuk left the game against the Kings following a collision with center Anze Kopitar on Sunday, the Habs took another hit down the middle when David Desharnais, Galchenyuk’s replacement on Montreal’s top line, went down with an injury of his own.

The team announced Wednesday evening that both would be sidelined for six to eight weeks with knee injuries. If there’s a slight silver lining for the Habs, it would be the recent play of veteran pivot Tomas Plekanec. He scored against St. Louis to put Montreal up by a pair — his first goal in just over a month and second overall — and it was his shot that hit Paul Byron to open the scoring.

The Canadiens made a swap earlier in the day among their younger forwards, re-assigning Charles Hudon to and recalling Sven Andrighetto from the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps.

Montreal also re-assigned defenseman Mark Barberio, who dressed for the team’s last six games. That could open the door for Zach Redmond to make his season debut. Redmond was recently taken off injured reserve after recovering from a broken foot suffered in training camp but has yet to dress for a game. Meanwhile, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu remains on injured reserve.

After a rough go through the second half of November, the early days of December have been good to the Devils. New Jersey won just one of its final eight games last month but has kicked off the final month of the calendar year with two wins and an overtime loss.

Their most recent triumph came in the form of a 3-2 victory against the Vancouver Canucks in a game that turned into a chippy affair after a big hit from Taylor Hall led to Canucks defenseman Philip Larsen being taken off on a stretcher.

“I’m looking to make contact there but I never want to see a guy laying on the ice like that,” Hall told the New Jersey Record, while also noting that he tried to keep his arms in and make a chest-to-chest hit.

“I only know how to play the game one way and you’ve got to play it hard.”

Former Canadiens winger Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, who has nine points in 25 games with New Jersey this season, had a weight lifted off his shoulder against the Canucks when he recorded his point, an assist, in seven games. He told the Record he met with coach John Hynes in the morning, who provided the veteran with a “wake-up call.”

“I’m just happy to help the team win, I’ve felt pretty useless the last few games,” he said. “I didn’t get much done. It’s nice to get on the scoresheet and make some plays again. I had a good chat with Hynsie this morning. He was good about it. It was kind of a wake-up call. I think you need it sometimes. Not only about not producing but, sometimes when you’re not producing, you get away from your game and you start looking for other things and you don’t compete as hard. You’re puck watching. You’ve got to get back to basics and I think I did that.”

Hynes announced that Cory Schneider will get the start against Montreal.

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The Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers made major moves in the offseason that have panned out so far, helping them build the largest divisional leads in the league.

Montreal began the season 9-0-1, creating a cushion in the Atlantic and re-establishing itself as a contender in the Eastern Conference. Edmonton won seven of its first eight, shooting to the top of the Pacific and making a rare appearance atop the Western Conference standings.

”It’s great that we’ve created a buzz back in Canada, where hockey is the No. 1 sport,” Oilers winger Milan Lucic told The Associated Press. ”There’s definitely a buzz in Edmonton, where it’s been a long time since fans have been able to root for a team that has won.”

Connor McDavid has made the Oilers relevant again, restoring pride to a five-time Stanley Cup-winning franchise that has endured a 10-season postseason drought. The 19-year-old center was named the NHL’s first star in October after opening the season with three points in each of his first two games, scoring two game-winning goals and having 12 points in nine games.

McDavid played in his 14th game of the season Tuesday night at Pittsburgh, a year after a breaking his left clavicle 13 games into his rookie season. He was out for nearly three months last season but didn’t miss a beat when he returned, finishing with 48 points in 45 games.

He draws attention from opponents like he’s already a superstar and responds like a savvy veteran, giving up the puck to open teammates as he did to set up a winning goal Sunday night in Detroit. McDavid, the No. 1 pick last year, simply shrugs his shoulders and gives aw-shucks answers when asked to explain his knack for knowing when to shoot and when to pass.

”I’ve done it my whole life,” he said.

Even though McDavid hasn’t played an entire season yet, Oilers coach Todd McLellan doesn’t hesitate to say he’s one of the NHL’s top players.

”The way teams are paying attention to him, checking him, and making him a focal point, I think that would indicate that a lot of the league agrees,” McLellan said.

McDavid can’t win alone, though.

Lucic has provided an instant return on the franchise’s $42 million, seven-year investment in him during free agency over the summer, giving the team an established veteran to lean on in his 10th season. Every good team needs at least a solid goaltender and the Oilers have one in Cam Talbot, who is in his second season with the team and fourth in the league.

The Canadiens might have the best goalie in the world, and he’s healthy again and so is the team’s outlook. A blockbuster trade that went their way has helped, too.

Price missed much of last year with a knee injury, tuned up for the season with a World Cup-winning performance for Canada and looks like he did when he won the Vezina Trophy two years ago.

Shea Weber has never won the Norris Trophy, but this might be the year he’s recognized as the league’s top defenseman in his 12th season after being acquired in a jaw-dropping deal with Nashville for P.K. Subban. Weber was named the league’s second star of October after leading all defensemen with 10 points, including a 10-day stretch in which he scored a league-high three game-winning goals last month.

Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said Weber, ”changes everything,” for the franchise.

”What he brings, you obviously see it on the ice, but off the ice, in the room, everywhere, it’s his attitude, his behavior, the little details that show he’s a real leader,” Bergevin said.

SHARK ATTACK

The defending Western Conference-champion San Jose Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak by opening a six-game road trip with a 3-0 shutout of the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. It was the kind of game coach Peter DeBoer wants to see from his team.

”Our foundation is being hard to play against and not giving up too much,” DeBoer said. ”We haven’t scored, but we don’t want to play a 6-5 game. I think even on the stretches where we didn’t score last year, you could always rely on that foundation.”

GAME OF THE WEEK

Montreal will get tested perhaps more than it has been this season Sunday night on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks, who have won six straight going into Wednesday night’s game at St. Louis.

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at www.twitter.com/larrylage

The post Oh, Canada! Canadiens, Oilers start strong north of border appeared first on IdealCapper.

When: 9:30 PM ET, Monday, October 27, 2014
Where: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, RDS (Montreal), RSN (Edmonton)
Prediction: Canadiens 5, Oilers 2
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Oddsmakers currently have the Canadiens listed as 148-moneyline favorites versus the Oilers, while the game’s total is sitting at 5½.

Viktor Fasth participated in practice Sunday for the first time since suffering a groin injury on Oct. 14 against Los Angeles. The 32-year-old Swede, who is 0-1-1 in two contests this season, still is unsure of when he will return to action. “(Sunday) was the first day with real practice,” Fasth told the team’s web site. “I’ve been skating and doing a lot of work with the goalie coach and the trainers here. But I hope to be back soon.”

The Oilers were a 6-3 winner in their most recent outing at home against the Hurricanes. That made winners of bettors who got Edmonton at -150 on the moneyline, while the total score (9) was good news for OVER bettors.

Team record: 3-4-1
Current Streak: won 3 straight games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Edmonton’s last 9 games
Edmonton is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
Edmonton is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Montreal
Edmonton is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Montreal

Dale Weise, who made his NHL debut with the Rangers in 2010-11, recorded two assists Saturday for his fourth career multi-point performance – and second against his former team. The 26-year-old was playing in his second straight game after being a healthy scratch for the previous two. “Every game I play, I’ve got to give (coach Michel Therrien) a reason not to take me out of the lineup,” Weise said. “That’s just the situation we’re in here.”

In their last action, Montreal was a 3-1 winner at home against the Rangers. Bettors on Montreal at -134 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (4) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well.

Team record: 7-1-0
Current Streak: won 4 straight games.
Montreal is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Montreal is 14-7 SU in its last 21 games on the road
Montreal is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Edmonton
Montreal is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Edmonton

The post Montreal vs. Edmonton Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.

Bergevin led the Canadiens to the Northeast Division title and a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs in his first season as an NHL general manager. Montreal, 28th last season in the 30-team NHL, was the league’s most improved team before being ousted by No. 7 Ottawa in the postseason’s first round.

Bergevin hired Michel Therrien as head coach and added defenseman Francis Bouillon and forwards Brandon Prust and Colby Armstrong to the roster. He also acquired forward Michael Ryder in a midseason trade.

Murray helped guide Anaheim to its best regular-season finish in franchise history. The Ducks won the Pacific Division and earned the No. 2 seed in the West, but they were eliminated by No. 7 Detroit in a Game 7 loss at home on Sunday night.

Shero made key additions to an already-strong Penguins roster throughout the lockout-shortened year that helped propel the Penguins to their first Atlantic Division title since 2008 and the No. 1 seed in the East.

He obtained center Brandon Sutter and goalie Tomas Vokoun in offseason trades and brought in defenseman Douglas Murray and forwards Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Jussi Jokinen before the trade deadline.

The Penguins eliminated the New York Islanders in six games in the first round of the playoffs and will face Ottawa in the Eastern Conference semifinal series that will begin Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.

Voting for the award was conducted among the 30 club general managers and a panel of NHL executives, print and broadcast media. The winner will be announced during the Stanley Cup finals.

The post NHL top GM finalists named appeared first on IdealCapper.