See Less Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj: Adds to power play Xhekaj had a power-play goal and assist in Thursday's 7-2 loss to Carolina. He added three shots on goal and three hits over 19:26 of ice time. Xhekaj gave Montreal's last-in-the-NHL power play a lift in the first period as a response to Aleksander Barkov's hat trick. The rookie defenseman, who averages 39 seconds on the power play, was added to the unit this week and skated a combined 7:43 with the man advantage in losses to the Lightning and Hurricanes.
He told Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette that being on the power play is "starting to click. " Xhekaj has three points on the power play over 34 games.... See Less Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Seven pucks go past Montembault made 34 saves in a 7-2 loss to Florida on Thursday. The Montreal penalty kill struggled mightily -- Florida was 3-for-6 on the power play. And Montembault was a sitting duck behind a porous Canadiens squad. Aleksander Barkov returned from injury to pot five points and Matthew Tkachuk had a three-point game.
For a second straight game, Armia skated on the top line and didn't have much to show for it. He joined Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, Montreal's best offensive producers, in an effort to unlock the struggling winger. Armia has just three points (all assists) over 24 contests.... See Less Canadiens' Christian Dvorak: Snags assist in loss Dvorak had an assist, one shot on goal and two blocked shots over 16:47 of ice time in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay.
Hoffman set up Josh Anderson for a first-period score, snapping a three-game run without a point. Multiple Montreal forwards are slumping, as the team scored just 14 goals over the last seven outings. It's even worse for the power-play units, which remain last in the NHL at 14. 9 percent after pocketing two power-play goals Thursday.... See Less Canadiens' Evgenii Dadonov: Returns to ice Dadonov had a power-play assist, three shots on goal and one blocked shot over 13:38 of ice time in Thursday's 7-2 loss to Carolina.
The 20-year-old has 14 points, including 12 assists, in 36 games this season.... See Less Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Facing Florida Dec 29, 2022 Montembeault will be in the visiting crease against Florida on Thursday, Marc Denis of RDS reports. Montembeault has not played since Dec. 19, when he stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 3-2 win over Arizona. Overall, he is 6-3-2 with a 2. 89 GAA and a. 912 save percentage.
He added four shots on net, four hits and one blocked shot over 17:14 of ice time. Anderson halted a seven-game goal-less run with a first-period marker, the forward's second on the power play and first man-advantage goal since Nov. 17. Montreal is 26th in goals scored (98) and tallied just 14 times over its last eight contests. That kind of offense will impact the production of players like Anderson, a top-six forward with just 12 points over 34 games....
Gallagher can obviously help you pad some of the more abrasive categories.... See Less Canadiens' Kaiden Guhle: Leaves with apparent leg injury Guhle left Thursday's 7-2 loss to Florida late in the third period with an apparent leg injury. There was no update on Guhle's status after the game. He had laid six hits and delivered five blocks before he got tangled up with Aleksander Barkov behind the net.
The forward had been given minutes on the top two lines recently but was back on the fourth line Thursday. All the while, Drouin maintained a role on the top power-play unit. Thursday's assist snapped a five-game point-less run, and he has four power-play assists and six points overall in 20 games.... See Less Canadiens' Josh Anderson: Pots power-play goal Anderson had a power-play goal in Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Hurricanes.
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He has had a pair of 30-plus goal seasons, but that was five and six years ago respectively and has been injury prone ever since.... See Less Canadiens' Justin Barron: Makes season debut Barron had one shot on goal and one hit over 15:37 of ice time in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay. He was one of five rookies in the lineup on defense, the first time that's happened in franchise history. Barron, who was called up from AHL Laval on Tuesday, made his season debut on the third pair. He's been productive on the power play at Laval and leads AHL defensemen with five goals on the man advantage, but Canadiens head coach Martin St.
Louis did not utilize him on any of the opportunities the team had Wednesday. "We wanted to make sure he focused on his defensive play, his five-on-five game, " St. Louis told Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. "I thought he gave us some solid minutes, he made some good reads. We didn't want to give him too many responsibilities. " The Habs could use the help on the power play; they were last in the NHL entering the contest and went 0-for-5 against the Lightning.... See Less Canadiens' Joel Armia: Remains on top line Armia had one shot on goal, one hit and one blocked shot over 13:46 of ice time in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Lightning.
He faces the disappointing Panthers, who are just a point ahead of the last-place Canadiens in the Atlantic Division after winning the division last season.... See Less Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher: Playing Thursday Gallagher (lower body) will be activated off injured reserve and return to the lineup Thursday versus Florida. Gallagher missed 13 games with the injury and will see third-line time alongside Evgenii Dadonov and Christian Dvorak. Gallagher has three goals and five assists in 22 games this season.
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Montreal Canadiens News, Scores, Status, Schedule - NHLTop Canadiens News Canadiens' Kaiden Guhle: Not expected to face Capitals Rotowire Dec 30, 2022 Guhle (lower body) isn't expected to play Saturday against Washington. Guhle sustained the injury in the third period of Thursday's 7-2 loss to Florida. He has two goals and 14 points in 36 contests this season while averaging 20:46 of ice time. Chris Wideman, who was a healthy scratch in Montreal's last two games, might draw into the lineup Saturday.... See More... See Less Canadiens' Mike Hoffman: Helps on power play Hoffman had a power-play assist and a team-high five shots on goal over 13:42 of ice time in Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Hurricanes.
Montembault is 1-2-1 in four starts in December and he's allowed 19 goals in those games, including seven on two occasions. He needs to be on your bench or sitting on the wire -- the Canadiens are a tough team to play behind.... See Less Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher: No points but big PIM in loss Gallagher (lower body) returned Thursday and had three shots and 17 penalty minutes in 13:41 in a 7-2 loss to Florida. He had missed 13 games with the injury. Gallagher got more and more frustrated as the game progressed and finally snapped late in the third, taking on Brandon Montour in a fight. Get him back into your lineup if you've held onto him this long.
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Dvorak was the second helper, winning a faceoff in the offensive zone that eventually led to Kaiden Guhle's goal. The center has six points over the last 11 contests. Dvorak, who has been a steady hand in the circle, won 10 of 20 faceoffs and is second on the club with 52. 9 win percentage.... See Less Canadiens' Joel Edmundson: Helps on lone goal Edmundson had an assist, two shots on goal and four blocked shots over 19:18 of ice time in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Lightning. Christian Dvorak won an offensive zone draw back to Edmundson, who fed partner Kaiden Guhle for the Canadiens' lone goal.
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