A look at Habs’ next 3 games in 15 points

On Sunday, Lane Hutson scored a point in his eighth consecutive game, becoming the first rookie for the CH since Stéphan Lebeau in 1989-1990 to reach this milestone. It should be noted that Shayne Gostisbehere holds the record among rookie defensemen in the NHL, with 9 consecutive games with at least 1 point (2015-2016).

On Tuesday, the Lightning will surely want to avenge their defeat from December 29, when the CH left Tampa Bay with 2 points in the standings. Samuel Montembeault had indeed been stellar for Montreal in that game.

With the departure of Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, unsurprisingly, has been named captain. Despite this added pressure, the Swede remains among the top defensemen in the league, with 36 points in 42 games this season, as of Monday. Even at 34 years old, this stallion doesn’t want to slow down.

The Lightning superstar is almost 20 points ahead of Brayden Point, sitting at the top of the team’s scoring chart. If Tampa qualifies for the playoffs, he is likely to receive Hart Trophy votes, that’s for sure, although the competition will be tight.

Jon Cooper is the longest-serving head coach in the NHL, managing to keep the Lightning very competitive despite the lack of depth in his lineup. Let’s just say Julien BriseBois will need to provide Cooper with some resources if Tampa wants to be competitive. It remains to be seen if the CH will cause a surprise again, especially since the Lightning will be on a back-to-back game sequence. 2 crucial points will be at stake.

Just like the Lightning, the Red Wings are also battling with the Canadiens for a playoff spot. They will therefore be highly motivated for this Thursday’s showdown, being very close to Montreal in the standings.

It’s all or nothing for the Wings’ special teams in 2024-2025, as they are ranked second in the NHL on the power play. That said, Detroit ranks 31st in penalty killing. Quite a difference, to say the least.

For the nostalgic, we remember that the Wings have two key members of the CH in 2021, namely when they reached the finals, in Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot. It should be noted that Chiarot has collected 7 points in 45 games this year, while being paid 4.75 million dollars until 2026.

Following a difficult start to the season, the Wings fired Derek Lalonde, replacing him with Todd McLellan as head coach. Since then, the Wings have seen more success, winning 7 of their last 10 games, as of Monday.

On Saturday, the CH will conclude their week against the New Jersey Devils at Bell Centre, one of the best teams in the NHL this year. They represent one of the most complete teams in the league right now.

Traded to the Devils last year, it will be interesting to see if Jake Allen will be starting in Montreal on Saturday, having previously given way to Jakob Markstrom earlier this season. A Montembeault-Allen matchup, who wouldn’t love that?

The young sensation of the Devils, Jack Hughes, has been slow to stay healthy since his NHL debut, certainly, but he is on the right track now. Averaging more than a point per game, one can wonder if he will reach 100 points by March, having collected 99 in 2022-2023.

Word has been circulating for a few days that J.T. Miller of the Canucks is on the verge of changing addresses, with the Devils frequently appearing in rumors. Could he be the missing piece for the Devils to reach the next level, especially in the playoffs?

With Tomas Tatar and Johnathan Kovacevic, two former Canadiens, fans will get to see two of their former favorites on Saturday night in their temple.

With the performance of the young and very solid Jakub Dobes, we have a healthy competition in goal. It will be interesting to see who between Dobes or Montembeault will get the most starts this week, given the Czech giant’s unwavering success. We know Samuel is the number one goalie, but Dobes is gradually breathing down his neck…