Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Phoenix Coyotes (18-9-5, 41 points) and Montreal Canadiens (20-12-3, 43 points) hit the ice at the Bell Centre for the first of two meetings against each other this season. The game can be live streamed here. Phoenix fans can hear all of the bone-crunching action on KTAR 92.3 while Montreal fans can do the same on TSN 690.
Phoenix and Montreal both started off hot but have entered slumps as the Coyotes are 4-5-2 in their last 11 games and the Canadiens have lost three of their last four games while only mustering up three goals total in all four contests.
The Canadiens offensive struggles and lack of power play production was described quite simply by Alex Galchenyuk.
"We're not scoring goals," Galchenyuk, who has three goals in his last five games, told NHL.com.
Galchenyuk (10 goals, 12 assists) and Tomas Plekanec (11 tallies, 11 helpers) are tied for second on the team with 22 points while P.K. Subban (four goals, 21 assists) paces the team with 25 points.
The Flames lost 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes in their last game, but goaltender Mike Smith said he felt the best he's felt in a while in the loss.
"You'd think I was crazy if I told you what happened, but I felt the most comfortable about my game after this past game," Smith told the Arizona Republic. "Obviously disappointing to lose, but I think I was the happiest I've been coming out of a loss in a long time just because I felt so much more comfortable on the ice. It's definitely a stepping stone in the right direction."
Smith is 14-7-5 this season with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. The probable starter for Montreal is Carey Price, who is 15-10-2 with a 2.00 GAA and a .935 save percentage.
Price will have to try and stop a Phoenix unit that is led by Mike Ribeiro (9-17-26), who has nine points in his last seven games, and Radim Vrbata (9-16-25). Captain Shane Doan (12-11-23) is third on the team in scoring, but is sidelined with an illness.
The Coyotes look to start winning again while the Canadiens hope to get their offense and power play going when they go head-to-head tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
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