NHL Preview: Montréal Canadiens (27-36-6) at Tampa Bay Lightning (41-22-6)

MONTREAL CANADIENS NOTES:

À SURVEILLER CE SOIR / KEEP AN EYE ON…

• Les Canadiens et le Lightning s’affrontent ce soir pour la 111e fois en saison régulière. En incluant les matchs de séries, il s’agira de la 129e confrontation entre ces deux clubs.
• The Canadiens and Lightning are facing each other for the 111th time in regular season. Including playoff contests, this will be the 129th match-up between those two opponents.

DERNIER MATCH / LAST GAME – FLA 9 VS. MTL 5 (@ FLA LIVE ARENA)
Buts MTL Goals – Matheson, Richard, Pezzetta, Harvey-Pinard, Pitlick (AN/PP)
Buts FLA Goals – White, Verhaeghe, Forsling, Ekblad, Lomberg, Reinhart, Verhaeghe, Ekblad (AN/PP), Tkachuk
Gardien MTL Goalie – Montembeault (21-24) ; Allen (13-18)
Gardien FLA Goalie – Bobrovsky (25-30)
Avantage numérique MTL Powerplay – 1/1
Avantage numérique FLA Powerplay – 1/4
Meneurs MTL Leaders – TOI (Savard – 22:05) ; S (Suzuki – 4) ; HT (Pezzetta – 6) ; BS (Belzile, Guhle, Harvey-Pinard, Kovacevic, Savard – 2)

MATCHS À VENIR / UPCOMING GAMES
21 MARS VS. TAMPA BAY 19 h / 7 p.m.
23 MARS @ BOSTON 19 h / 7 p.m.
25 MARS VS. COLUMBUS 19 h / 7 p.m.
27 MARS @ BUFFALO 19 h / 7 p.m.
28 MARS @ PHILADELPHIE 19 h / 7 p.m.

RAPPORT MÉDICAL DE LA SAISON / SEASON INJURY REPORT
Joueur Player Date Blessure Injury Matchs ratés Games lost Retour Return
C. Price – Genou / Knee 69 –
P. Byron – Hanche / Hip 69 –
J. Evans – Bas du corps / Lower-body 26 –
B. Gallagher – Bas du corps / Lower-body 31 –
J. Slafkovsky – Bas du corps / Lower-body 25 –
S. Monahan – Bas du corps / Lower-body 44 –
C. Caufield – Épaule / Shoulder 23 –
A. Xhekaj – Épaule / Shoulder 16 –

RÉAFFECTATIONS, SIGNATURES ET TRANSACTIONS / ROSTER MOVES, SIGNINGS AND TRANSACTIONS
Les Canadiens ont rappelé l’attaquant Anthony Richard du Rocket de Laval (09/03)
The Canadiens have recalled forward Anthony Richard from the Laval Rocket (03/09)
Les Canadiens ont cédé le défenseur Frédéric Allard au Rocket de Laval (06/03)
The Canadiens have loaned defenseman Frédéric Allard to the Laval Rocket (03/06)
Les Canadiens ont rappelé le défenseur Frédéric Allard du Rocket de Laval (04/03)
The Canadiens have recalled defenseman Frédéric Allard from the Laval Rocket (03/04)
Les Canadiens ont acquis l’attaquant Denis Gurianov des Stars de Dallas (26/02)
The Canadiens have acquired forward Denis Gurianov from the Dallas Stars (02/26)
Les Canadiens ont cédé le défenseur Corey Schueneman au Rocket de Laval (25/02)
The Canadiens have loaned defenseman Corey Schueneman to the Laval Rocket (02/25)

STATISTIQUES D’ÉQUIPE / TEAM STATISTICS – AVANT LES MATCHS DU 17/03 – BEFORE GAMES ON 03/17
PTS (60 – 27e/27th)
V/W (27 – 26e/26th)
BP/GF (191 – 27e/27th)
BC/GA (255 – 30e/30th)
Tirs-PM/Shots-PG (27.5 – 30e/30th)
Tirs accordés-PM/Shots allowed-PG (34.0 – 28e/28th)
MÉ/Hits (1359 – 28e/28th)
MP/PIM (832 – 1er/1st)
AN/PP (16.3% – 30e/30th)
DN/PK (72.5% – 30e/30th)

LES CANADIENS CONTRE CHAQUE DIVISION L’AN DERNIER / THE HABS VS. EVERY DIVISION LAST SEASON
Adversaire Opponent Fiche Record PTS Buts pour Goals for Buts contre Goals against
Atlantique 9-14-3 21 84 89
Centrale 3-9-4 10 39 65
Métropolitaine 6-17-1 13 55 103
Pacifique 4-9-3 11 43 62
Total 22-49-11 55 221 319
*Inclut les buts en fusillade / Includes the shootout goals

LES CANADIENS CONTRE CHAQUE DIVISION CETTE SAISON / THE HABS VS. EVERY DIVISION THIS SEASON
Division Fiche Record PTS Buts pour Goals for Buts contre Goals against
Atlantique 4-12-1 9 40 81
Centrale 8-6-2 18 52 53
Métropolitaine 9-8-2 20 57 69
Pacifique 6-9-1 13 46 54
Total 27-36-6 60 195 257
*Inclut les buts en fusillade / Includes the shootout goals

MARTIN ST-LOUIS EN CHIFFRES / MARTIN ST. LOUIS’ NUMBERS…
Matchs/Games : 106
Victoires/Wins : 41
Fiche : 41-55-10
Points de classement/Standing points : 92

CANADIENS VS. TAMPA BAY
À vie / All-Time
CANADIENS vs. TBL 49-46-6-9 (110 PJ / GP)
Dom. / Home 26-21-1-6 (54 PJ / GP)
Étr. / Away 23-25-5-2 (56 PJ / GP)
Dern. Match / Last game:
D 4-1 L @ TBL (28/12/22)
J. Allen 4-38 | A. Vasilevskiy 1-28
BG / WG: B. Point

10 DERNIERS MATCHS CONTRE TAMPA BAY / LAST 10 GAMES VS. TAMPA BAY:
28/12/22 – MTL 1 @ TBL 4
17/12/22 – TBL 5 @ MTL 1
02/04/22 – MTL 5 @ TBL 4 (TB/SO)
28/12/21 – MTL 4 @ TBL 5 (P/OT)
07/12/21 – TBL 3 @ MTL 2
05/03/20 – MTL 0 @ TBL 4
02/01/20 – TBL 2 @ MTL 1
28/12/19 – MTL 4 @ TBL 5
15/10/19 – TBL 3 @ MTL 1
02/04/19 – TBL 2 @ MTL 4

CETTE SAISON CONTRE TAMPA BAY / THIS SEASON VS. TAMPA BAY
Match #1: 17/12/2022 @ MTL – D/L 5-1
Match #2: 28/12/2022 @ TBL – D/L 4-1
Match #3: 18/03/2023 @ TBL
Match #4: 21/03/2023 @ MTL

MEILLEURS BUTEURS CONTRE TAMPA BAY / LEADING GOAL SCORERS VS. TAMPA BAY:
1) Mike Hoffman (8-8-16, 31 pj/gp)
2) Sean Monahan (7-3-10, 15 pj/gp)
3) Josh Anderson (5-2-7, 12 pj/gp)

MEILLEURS POINTEURS CONTRE TAMPA BAY / LEADING SCORERS VS. TAMPA BAY:
1) Mike Hoffman (8-8-16, 31 pj/gp)
2) Brendan Gallagher (5-8-13, 29 pj/gp)
3) Sean Monahan (7-3-10, 15 pj/gp)

MENEURS MINUTES DE PÉNALITÉ CONTRE TAMPA BAY / MOST PENALTY MINUTES VS. TAMPA BAY:
1) Mike Hoffman (16, 31 pj/gp)
2) Josh Anderson (15, 12 pj/gp)
3) David Savard (12, 25 pj/gp)

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING NOTES:

LAST GAME
Lightning 4 at New Jersey 3 (SO)
The Tampa Bay Lightning collected a second-straight victory over the New Jersey Devils in a 4-3 shootout win March 16 at Prudential Center…Tampa Bay moved to 41-22-6 on the season with a road record of 17-16-1…Ross Colton opened the scoring 1:09 into the first period when Steven Stamkos sent a pass to Mikhail Sergachev, who fired a shot on goal that deflected off the knee of Colton and past Akira Schmid to put the Bolts up 1-0…Timo Meier tied the game at one at the 8:59 mark of the second period…After the Lightning successfully killed off a full, two minute 5-on-3, Erik Cernak carried the puck up ice and sent a pass behind the NJD net to Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who fed Stamkos in front before the captain fired a quick shot into the top right corner with 1:49 left in the middle frame and put Tampa Bay up 2-1…Timo Meier tied the game 2-2 at the 9:41 mark of the third period…Stamkos scored his second goal of the night and put the Bolts up 3-2 with 4:47 remaining after Nikita Kucherov sent a pass to Sergachev, who put the puck on a platter for Stamkos to fire home his patented one-timer on the power play…Meier scored his second goal of the period and tied the game for NJD with 2:16 left in regulation…After neither team found the back of the net in overtime, Colton and Alex Killorn scored in the shootout for the Lightning, while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped two-of-three shots and finished the game with 34 saves.
PP: TBL – 1-3 NJD – 1-4
SOG: TBL – 24 NJD – 35
Attendance: 16,094

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Lightning and Canadiens are playing the third of four matchups this season and the second of two meetings at AMALIE Arena…The Bolts are 2-0-0 vs. MTL this season with a 5-1 win Dec. 17 at Bell Centre and a 4-1 win Dec. 28 at AMALIE Arena…Brandon Hagel (3-1—4) leads Tampa Bay in goals and points vs. MTL this season, while Victor Hedman (0-3—3) leads the team in assists…Andrei Vasilevskiy has started both games vs. MTL this season and has stopped 47 of 49 shots against for a .959 save percentage and 1.00 goals against average…Hedman is riding a six-game point streak vs. MTL (2-8—10) with four multi-point efforts during that span and has found the scoresheet in nine of the last 11 meetings (2-15—17)…Hedman has posted five straight multi-point games vs. MTL at AMALIE Arena (2-10—12)…Steven Stamkos has picked up points in nine of his last 10 games vs. MTL (5-8—13) and 14 of the last 16 meetings (9-11—20)…Nikita Kucherov is riding a five-game point streak vs. MTL (4-5—9) and has points in 14 of the last 16 matchups (10-14—24)…Brayden Point has found the scoresheet in four straight home games vs. MTL (5-2—7) with goals in each of the least three contests…Anthony Cirelli has picked up points in six of his last seven games vs. MTL (3-4—7)…Alex Killorn has pointed in six of his last eight contests vs. MTL (4-5—9)…Vasilevskiy has won 11 consecutive games vs. MTL with two shutouts, a .945 SV%, 1.72 GAA and one assist…The Lightning have scored four or more goals in four straight games vs. MTL (total: 18 goals)…Tampa Bay’s penalty kill is 21-for-21 over the last seven games vs. MTL with one shorthanded goal…The Bolts have picked up at least one point in 19 of the last 20 meetings with MTL…The Lightning have scored three or more goals in seven consecutive home games vs. MTL (total: 31 goals)…Tampa Bay is 8-0-2 in their last 10 home games vs. MTL and 8-1-1 in the last 10 meetings overall…The Bolts are 55-38-11 with six ties all-time vs. MTL, including a home record of 28-15-8 with five ties…Hedman (8-36—44) holds the Lightning franchise record for career points vs. MTL.

TBL ALL-TIME POINT LEADERS VS. MTL

1. Victor Hedman – 44 pts. (8-36—44, 42 GP)
2. Vincent Lecavalier – 42 pts. (19-23—42, 53 GP)
3. Steven Stamkos – 41 pts. (22-19—41, 45 GP)
4. Martin St. Louis – 40 pts. (18-22—40, 48 GP)
5. Nikita Kucherov – 32 pts. (12-20—32, 30 GP)

TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
Tampa Bay is playing the first game of a brief, two-game homestand tonight…The Bolts will play eight of their 16 games in March on home ice…The Lightning are 10-8-1 against Atlantic Division opponents and 20-14-3 against the Eastern Conference this season…Tampa Bay is 24-6-5 on home ice this season…Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, both with the MTL organization, were inducted into the Lightning Hall of Fame on Friday night.

INJURIES
2022-23 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 104
Current Injuries:
None

TRANSACTIONS
March 4 – Recalled D Darren Raddysh from AHL Syracuse
March 3 – Re-assigned D Darren Raddysh to AHL Syracuse
March 2 – Recalled D Darren Raddysh from AHL Syracuse
March 1 – Acquired F Michael Eyssimont from San Jose in exchange for F Vladislav Namestnikov

HOME COOKING
The Lightning are 24-6-5 at home this season with a .757 points percentage, trailing only Boston (.864) for the NHL lead…Tampa Bay has scored three or more goals in 14 of their last 16 games at AMALIE Arena and 29 of 35 home games overall…The Bolts lead the NHL with a 3.97 goals per game average on home ice…Tampa Bay’s power play is clicking at a 31% conversion rate on home ice, the second-best among all NHL teams, trailing only Edmonton (32.1%)…Since Dec. 1, the Lightning have given up just eight power-play goals on 64 attempts at AMALIE Arena, good for an 87.5 PK%, the third-best penalty kill percentage in the NHL during that span.

NHL HOME GOALS PER GAME LEADERS

1. Tampa Bay Lightning – 3.97 GF/GP (139 goals, 35 GP)
2. Edmonton Oilers – 3.83 GF/GP (134 goals, 35 GP)
3. Florida Panthers – 3.82 GF/GP (130 goals, 34 GP)
4. Boston Bruins – 3.73 GF/GP (123 goals, 33 GP)
5. Buffalo Sabres – 3.62 GF/GP (123 goals, 34 GP)