Devils at Canadiens
THE STORY: The Montreal Canadiens will play on their home ice for the final time in 2011 when they host the surging New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. That might not be a bad thing, despite an upcoming six-game road trip facing the Canadiens. Montreal is coming off a strong effort in a one-goal loss to Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia on Thursday night at the Bell Centre, but there's no hiding the fact that the Canadiens have the league's fewest home wins (5-6-6). There's certainly no hiding it from disenchanted Montreal fans. “When I was visiting this building, it was one of those things we talked about, that you could get the crowd to turn on them and use it to your advantage,” Canadiens right wing Erik Cole said. “That’s why it’s important for us to have better starts and gain the momentum.” The Devils have won three straight and five of six.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS
ABOUT THE DEVILS (17-13-1): After retiring the jersey of Scott Niedermeyer, the Devils scored a season-high total in a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Friday night. Captain Zach Parise had a goal and three assists to give him eight points in a three-game streak. He has five goals and 11 assists in his last 10 games. C Travis Zajac was on the ice for 15 minutes in his season debut. G Martin Brodeur has a 40-18-5 career record with a 1.77 goals-against average against Montreal.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (13-12-7): Montreal native Louis Leblanc provided the highlight in Thursday’s loss, scoring his first career goal and drawing a thunderous ovation. Six of the Canadiens’ seven games this month have been decided by one goal, including three shootout losses. Cole has scored a goal in four consecutive games, including two power-play tallies. Nonetheless, Montreal ranks 28th in the league with the man advantage with a 12.7 percent success rate. G Carey Price has allowed one goal in each of his last two starts vs. the Devils.
OVERTIME:
1. Montreal skated to a 2-1 victory at New Jersey last Saturday night. It continued a trend in the series in which the road team has won the last eight.
2. The Devils (92.9 percent) and Canadiens (89.9) rank first and second, respectively, in the league on the penalty kill.