Canucks at Canadiens
THE STORY: Visits to Montreal have had a bad impact on the Vancouver Canucks' offense in recent years. The Canucks will look to reverse their fortunes Thursday night as they visit the Canadiens for the first time in more than a year. The Canadiens have beaten Vancouver three straight times at the Molson Centre, outscoring their cross-country rivals 8-2 along the way. Thursday could prove more difficult for Montreal, with the Canucks coming off three consecutive high-scoring affairs. Vancouver bounced back nicely from a stunning 6-5 loss to Nashville last week, trouncing Calgary 5-1 before laying a 6-0 beating on Colorado. Montreal is trending in the opposite direction, having lost five of its last six games. Thursday marks the beginning of a five-game East Coast road swing for the Canucks, who will also visit Ottawa, Columbus, Carolina and Toronto before returning to B.C. for a four-game homestand.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet Vancouver, RDS, TSN Montreal
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (16-10-1): The Sedins are in mid-season form, as evidenced by the six combined points they posted in Tuesday's one-sided win over the Avalanche. Daniel Sedin recorded his fifth career hat trick in that one, while Henrik added three assists. Equally as impressive was the goaltending, with Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider combining on the shutout. Luongo left after taking a puck in the neck but returned to the bench for the third period.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (11-11-6): Extra time has not translated into many extra points for Montreal. The club has gone to overtime or a shootout nine times, the most of any team in the league. Yet the Canadiens have won just three of those contests, and are 0-3 in games lasting beyond 60 minutes during their present cold spell. Montreal has gone without consecutive wins since Nov. 10-12, and is just 1-4 in shootouts on the season.
OVERTIME:
1. Daniel Sedin has six goals and two assists during a four-game points streak. Henrik has six assists during a three-game run.
2. Carey Price will likely get the start for Montreal. He's 2-1-0 with a 3.01 goals-against average and a shutout in four career games against Vancouver.