The Canadian will play one last game at the Bell Center in 2023. For the occasion, the New York Islanders will be the visitors. After this meeting, the CH will leave for a three-game road trip before Christmas, with stops in Winnipeg, Minnesota and Chicago.
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The newspaper gives you five things to watch out for.
1 – Evans in uniform
Jake Evans has received the green light from doctors to play against the Islanders. Evans, who has yet to miss a game this season, was a doubtful case, since he had not participated in his team’s last two training sessions.
“It’s a minor thing, I just wanted to get it out of the way before the next game,” Evans said.
2 – Another departure for Montembeault
Samuel Montembeault will be the starting goalie for a second game in a row. In his last start, he lost 4-3 in a shootout against the Penguins. Since the start of the year, Montembeault has gotten two starts in a row three times, including twice since the start of December.
3 – Heineman will wait
There will be no change to the Canadian’s lineup for this game against the Islanders. Recalled from the Laval Rocket on Wednesday, Emil Heineman will watch a second game in a row from the press bridge.
Heineman only played seven games this season with the Rocket, recording four points (1 goal, 3 assists). St-Louis therefore intends to offer him some training before throwing him into the fray.
“Yes, it’s a bit of that [prendre notre temps], he replied. Our five-on-five game, I like it lately. We’ll see, we’re going on the trip for three games before Christmas. He has a chance of returning.”
4 – Romanov is in town
Alexander Romanov scored his second goal of the season Friday night against the Bruins. Acquired in the transaction with the Blackhawks and the CH involving Kirby Dach, Romanov is having a good season with the Islanders.
AFP
In his second year on Long Island, he offered stable play with a playing time of over 22 minutes (22 min 42 s). He amassed six points (2 goals, 4 assists), he has a differential of +8 and he ranks third on his team in blocked shots (62). In terms of toughness, he distributed 40 hits, the fifth highest total among the Islanders.
5 – Dobson: one point per game
The Islanders lost 5-4 in a shootout Friday against the Boston Bruins in Uniondale. They arrive in Montreal with great confidence and no defeats in regulation time in their last eight games (6-0-2). Noah Dobson is no stranger to his team’s recent success. The 23-year-old defender has collected 11 assists in his last eight outings. Since the start of the season, the former Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies has been rolling at a pace of one point per game, with 29 points (5 goals, 24 assists) in 29 games. He is also the player most used by Lane Lambert, with an average playing time of 25 min 30 s.
Dobson is a first-round pick (12e) of the Islanders in 2018, the same vintage as Jesperi Kotkaniemi (3e).
The formation of the Canadian
Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky
Monahan-Evans-Anderson
Armia-Dvorak-Gallagher
Pezzetta-Stephens-Ylönen
Matheson-Savard
Guhle-Barron
Struble-Kovacevic
Montembeault