Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Columbus Blue Jackets (2-3-0) and Montreal Canadiens (4-2-0) battle it out live from the Bell Centre in Montreal. The game can be live streamed here. Columbus fans can hear all the action on WBNS-FM 97.1 while Montreal fans can do the same on TSN Radio 690 AM.
In the first meeting between these two teams this season, visiting Columbus comes in off of a two-game losing streak at the hands of the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings while the hosting Canadiens play following a day off after winning three out of four games on a trip through Western Canada.
The Blue Jackets lost to two tough teams in Boston and Detroit, but they stayed in each game, losing to Boston 3-1 (including an empty-net goal) and falling 2-1 to Detroit, so despite dropping two straight games the team feels happy about the way it has played.
"I like the way we played on Tuesday," head coach Todd Richards told the Columbus Dispatch after an optional skate at Bell Centre on Wednesday. "So unless something changes between now and then, I'll probably go back to the same lineup. We created chances. We played smart hockey. We've done that for two games now and we haven't been rewarded. We need to get rewarded for it."
The main reason for the success of the Blue Jackets has been in net with reigning Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky picking up right where he left off. Through five games, Bobrovsky has let up more than two goals in a game just once as he's allowed 11 goals though he has a 2-3-0 record. The Columbus netminder also has a 2.18 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
Montreal has countered with Carey Price, who is 3-2-0 and has allowed just nine goals while posting a 1.81 GAA and a .944 save percentage.
Price was a factor in the Canadiens recent road swing and he's a big reason that the team is entering play on a three-game winning streak. Montreal has defeated the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets on its current streak, and Price saved 75 of 76 shots against him in the two games against the Canucks and Jets.
"I thought we did an excellent job of not allowing ourselves to get outworked and not putting anything less than 100 percent out," Price said after the game against Winnipeg, according to NHL.com. "Any [shots] I didn't see, we blocked. Any rebounds I let out, we cleared."
As far as offense, Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban has the most points on the team with eight off of two goals and six assists through his current five-game point streak, while Lars Eller (team-high (five goals, two assists) and Alex Galchenyuk (one tally, six helpers) each have seven points.
Marian Gaborik has led Columbus on the score sheet by notching six points off of two goals and two assists while Cam Atkinson also has two goals along with two assists for four points while Jack Johnson has also lit the lamp twice and has added a helper for three points.
Columbus looks to get back to its winning ways while Montreal looks to keep its winning streak alive when the puck is dropped at Bell Centre tonight.
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