Samuel Montembeault will make his fourth straight start in goal Saturday when the Canadiens face the Maple Leafs in Toronto (7 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports).
The Canadiens, who sit in last place in the Atlantic Division and 30th in the overall NHL standings with a 4-8-2 record, will be looking to end a five-game losing streak (0-4-1). The Leafs are second in the Atlantic Division with a 8-5-2 record after winning their last two games, including a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night in Toronto.
This will be the second of four meetings this season between the Canadiens and Leafs. The Canadiens won the season opener 1-0 over the Leafs at the Bell Centre despite being outshot 48-27 with Montembeault earning a shutout. The Canadiens and Leafs will meet again on Jan. 18 at the Bell Centre and on April 12 in Toronto.
The Leafs have a 5-1-1 record in their last seven games against the Canadiens.
Montembeault’s record this season is 3-6-1 with a 3.46 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage following Thursday night’s 5-3 loss to the Devils in New Jersey. The Canadiens are giving up an average of 4.07 goals per game, the most in the NHL.
Captain Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with 4-9-13 totals, followed by Cole Caufield (10-1-11), Mike Matheson (0-9-9), Juraj Slafkovsky (1-7-8) and Brendan Gallagher (6-1-7). Defenceman Justin Barron and forward Michael Pezzetta will be healthy scratches for the Canadiens against Toronto.
Mitch Marner leads the Leafs in scoring with 3-15-18 totals, followed by William Nylander (10-6-16) and John Tavares (7-6-13). Former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty has 2-4-6 totals in 12 games with Toronto after signing a one-year, US$873,770 contract with the Leafs. The 35-year-old leads the Leafs with 38 hits. Slafkovsky and Josh Anderson lead the Canadiens in hits with 35 each.
The Leafs’ power play has been on fire the last three games, going 6-for-11 with the team posting a 2-0-1 record during that time.
The Leafs won’t have their captain Auston Matthews for the third straight game. He was placed on injured reserve Friday, retroactive to Nov. 3, with an upper-body injury. The Leafs have won their last six games without Matthews in the lineup and are 37-19-2 in games he has missed since the Leafs selected him with the No. 1 overall pick at the 2016 NHL Draft. In 13 games this season, Matthews has 5-6-11 totals.
This is the second of four straight road games for the Canadiens. They will play the Sabres in Buffalo on Monday (12:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS) and the Wild in Minnesota on Thursday (8 p.m., TSN2, RDS), before returning home to play the Columbus Blue Jackets next Saturday at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., SNE, CITY, TVA Sports).
Laine back on skates
There was some good news for the Canadiens Saturday when Patrik Laine, who has been sidelined since spraining his left knee during a 2-1 pre-season loss to the Leafs on Sept. 28 at the Bell Centre, skated at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard.
After the injury, the Canadiens said they expected Laine to be sidelined for 2-3 months.
Rocket on a roll
There was more good news for the Canadiens Friday night when the AHL’s Laval Rocket beat the Belleville Bulls 4-3 in a shootout on the road. The Rocket improved their record to 9-1-0, good for first place in the North Division.
Alex Barré-Boulet, Brandon Gignac and Luke Tuch scored in regulation time for the Rocket, while Barré-Boulet and Logan Mailloux scored in the shootout. Goalie Connor Hughes stopped 28 of 31 shots in regulation time and three of four shots in the shootout, improving his record to 5-1-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. The Canadiens signed the 28-year-old Hughes to a one-year, two-way contract in June after he spent the last seven seasons playing in Switzerland.
Joshua Roy picked up two assists against the Bulls and leads the Rocket in scoring with 7-5-12 totals in 10 games. Barré-Boulet added two assists against the Bulls and has 3-8-11 totals in six games with the Rocket.
The Rocket will be back in action Saturday night when they face the Bulls again in Belleville. It will be the second of five straight road games for the Rocket, who won’t play again at Place Bell until Nov. 20 when the Rochester Americans will be the visitors.
Fowler shines at Boston College
Jacob Fowler made 30 saves Friday night as Boston College beat Maine 3-2. Boston College, ranked second in the NCAA, improved its record to 6-1-0.
Fowler, selected by the Canadiens in the third round (69th overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft, won his fifth straight game and improved his record to 6-1-0 with a 1.43 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage. Last season as a freshman at Boston College, Fowler had a 32-6-1 record with a 2.14 GAA and a .926 save percentage.