Canadiens at Blackhawks
Coach Joel Quenneville will have a difficult decision to make on Sunday, when his Chicago Blackhawks host the Original Six-rival Montreal Canadiens. Quenneville must decide whether or not to start Corey Crawford, who has posted back-to-back shutouts - including a 2-0 triumph in Minnesota on Saturday.
Crawford turned aside 24 shots by the Wild three nights after making 35 saves in a 3-0 home triumph over Philadelphia but could be rested on Sunday in favor of backup Anton Forsberg. Montreal is wrapping up a four-game road trip during which it has scored 16 goals while going 2-1-0 over the first three contests. The Canadiens rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to post a 5-4 victory in Winnipeg on Saturday as Max Pacioretty netted a power-play tally 3:07 into overtime. Montreal's captain added two assists, giving him six points during his four-game streak.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet, RDS (Montreal), NBCSN Chicago
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (5-8-1): Al Montoya, who made 19 saves on Saturday, could make his second start in two nights as Carey Price is nursing a lower-body injury. Andrew Shaw hopes for a repeat performance against his former team after registering his eighth career two-goal effort versus the Jets. Jonathan Drouin (10) and defenseman Shea Weber (11) joined Brendan Gallagher (11) as the only members of the team to reach double digits in points with one and two assists, respectively, on Saturday.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (7-5-2): Crawford, who leads the league in shutouts (two), goals-against average (1.75) and save percentage (.945), has allowed fewer than two goals in seven of his 12 appearances this season. Brandon Saad leads the team with six goals despite entering Sunday with an eight-game drought and also tops the club with four game-winning tallies. Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks in scoring with 14 points despite failing to record a power-play goal in the early season.
OVERTIME
1. The Blackhawks look to complete a sweep of the season series after posting a 3-1 victory at Montreal on Oct. 10.
2. Gallagher has collected three goals and three assists during his four-game point streak.
3. Chicago C Artem Anisimov is riding a four-game goal-scoring streak during which he also has notched an assist.