Game 21 - Canadiens vs Blues

#MTLHockey Preview

Match Up

The Canadiens (14-5-1) play host to the Blues (12-5-1) Thursday night at the Bell Centre. The game is set to start at 7:30 and can be seen on RDS and City-Montreal.

This is the first of two games between the Habs and Blues this season, they'll complete the series in St. Louis towards the end of February. Last year the Canadiens only managed to take one point from the Blues in the two games they played. They were beaten handily in St. Louis, by a score of 5-1, and they lost 3-2 in a shootout when they hosted the Blues in Montreal. T.J. Oshie scored the only shootout goal in that game, showing off the skills that would later make him an Olympic hero.

What to Watch

The Canadiens are waiting for their top center, David Desharnais, to pick up his scoring pace. Coming off a 52-point season last year, Desharnais has just two goals and ten points so far this season, and his production has been sporadic at best. Meanwhile, his linemate Max Pacioretty has been holding his own, leading the team in scoring with 8 goals and 16 points this season.

The Blues are led offensively by a pair of 22-year-old snipers, Vladamir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz. While he's been held pointless in his last two, Tarasenko is coming off a seven-game point streak and a span in which he scored 16 points in 9 games. Schwartz meanwhile had a six-game point streak come to an end Tuesday when the Blues were shut out by the Bruins. He had picked up 10 points in that time.

What's at Stake

After getting shut out by the Penguins on Tuesday, the Canadiens have a chance at redemption against another one of the league's best. While they've only lost five regulation games so far this season, four of those losses have come against top performers, the Lightning, Blackhawks, Penguins, and Flames. A win against the Blues will go a long way to prove the Habs deserve to be considered among the NHL's elite.

Who's Out

Michael Bournival (shoulder) has begun practicing again, but there is still no indication of when he may return. Mike Weaver (upper body) missed Tuesday's game and did not practice on Wednesday. It's unclear whether he'll dress Thursday night.

St. Louis is healthy heading in to Thursday's game.

What Else

After a perfect night against the Flyers on Saturday, the Canadiens' power play has gone cold once again, going 0-for-7 combined against the Red Wings and Penguins in their last two games. While St. Louis is the stingiest team in the league in terms of goals against per game, their penalty kill ranks 20th in the league at just a 79% efficiency, so the Canadiens may get an opportunity to find space with the man advantage.

The Question Mark

Considering the Habs motto is "No Excuses", give us your best excuse why the Habs were shut out badly by the Penguins on Tuesday.

Tonight's Show

Join myself, Rob Elbaz, along with Kosta Papoulias for the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show as we go live at 6:30 Thursday to preview the Canadiens and Blues.

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P.K. Subban's agent to meet Habs, Blues sign Oshie, Leafs, Oilers, Rumours and more

Happy Saturday puck addicts!

Lots of news floating around the NHL this morning, mostly of the minor signing variety. Well, except, of course, for the Blues inking T.J. Oshie to a mega-deal!

Mmm, perhaps 'mega' is not the right word since the five-year term at an average of $4.175, is probably pretty reasonable for the 25 year old Oshie.

On the Habs front, there is still no deal for defenseman P.K. Subban. This, of course, means that there are a slew of rumours out there seeing Subban moved out of town. Personally, I don't see any way that Subban will be traded.

He'll be signed soon enough as GM Marc Bergevin clearly identified Subban (and Carey Price) as key cogs going forward. The latest rumour has Subban and Tomas Plekanec being moved to Chicago for Patrick Kane and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Umm, unlikely methinks, if slightly plausible.

What do you think of this rumour?

Hockey News

-HabsAddict.com's own Sean Lloyd continues his look at the current Habs roster, this time turning his gaze towards Tomas Plekanec.

-Speaking of Subban, according to RDS, Subban's agent, Don Meehan, will meet with Bergevin next week. Who knows what will come of that meeting but, if I were a betting man, I'd say a deal will be done over the next few weeks.

-The Oil have avoided arbitration with star young gun, Sam Gagner. The team inked him to a 1-year deal.

-Continuing with the arbitration theme, the Leafs have signed Nikolai Kulemin, avoiding arbitration. Yes, the Cup is theirs!

-Lots of news on the Hawks front. In good news, previously concussed star, Marian Hossa says he's recovering on schedule, having resumed high-intensity training.

In bad news (more bad news?), star forward Patrick Kane is being accused of being an alcoholic because of his partying antics for Cinco de Mayo.

Really? An alcholic? He's 23 and is a millionaire. I think a little (a lot?) of the raising of the wrist is to be expected. Don't you?

-As previously stated, the Blues inked Oshie to a good deal for both sides.

-Lastly, Spector takes you around the horn, rounding up the latest NHL rumours.

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images North America)

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