Canadiens at Maple Leafs
A crowd is forming in the rear-view mirror of the Montreal Canadiens, who have a slew of teams chasing them as they prepare to visit the rival Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. The Canadiens are 2-7-1 this month, scoring a total of 13 goals in that span, and has been shut out four times in their last eight games.
Due in part to the scoring rut, Montreal's lead is down to two points over Ottawa in the cluttered Atlantic Division as it prepares to play its fourth game under new coach Claude Julien. "In order to have an identity, you need consistency and we haven't had that in the three games that I've been here," said Julien, who has watched the team manage three goals in his first three games. The Maple Leafs are sitting four points behind the Canadiens and holding down third place in the Atlantic, although they are tied on points with division rival Boston. Rookie standout Mitch Marner is expected to miss his fifth consecutive game for Toronto, which has dropped all three meetings to Montreal this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, TVAS, City
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (32-21-8): Julien shuffled his lines at Friday's practice and was non-committal when asked if he might split up his top defense pairing of Alexei Emelin and Shea Weber, who is a minus-7 over the past seven games. “Nothing’s set in stone here,” Julien said. "I think it’s a matter of time here before I decide to make changes. Because you don’t stay with the status quo when you’re not winning hockey games." Julien will wait until Saturday to decide on his starting netminder.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (28-20-12): While No. 1 overall pick Auston Matthews and Marner are at the head of Toronto's outstanding rookie class, William Nylander has recorded multiple points in three of his last five games while boosting his team-leading total to 19 points on the power play. Frederik Andersen turned aside 37 shots against the Rangers after allowing four goals in each of his last two starts. "This is how I want to be playing," Andersen said. "I know I can play like this."
OVERTIME
1. Canadiens G Carey Price needs one win to surpass Ken Dryden (258) for third place on the franchise's all-time list.
2. Toronto is 1-7 in shootouts this season.
3. Montreal has snuffed out 16 of 17 short-handed situations over the past five games.