After having stumbled against the worst team in the National Hockey Leaguethe Montreal Canadiens play a second game in two nights on Saturday, this time against a much tougher opponent.
Martin St-Louis’ squad traveled to Denver to face the Avalanche, who have won 10 of their last 12 games and are riding a six-game winning streak. This match is presented to you on TVA Sports.
This meeting is in progress. The score is 0 to 0.
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SUMMARY
First period
[9:00] Mikko Rantanen (COL) makes CH pay for their indiscipline and opens the scoring.
[7:43] Crowd favorites return numerical advantagecourtesy of a stick hit from Alex Newhook (MTL) against Samuel Girard (COL).
[4:01] Cole Caufield (MTL) offers a first numerical advantage at the Avalanche.
[1:19] Jakub Dobes (MTL) dit non sur un bon tir de Mikko Rantanen (COL).
[0:00] Start of the period.
As Samuel Montembeault held down the fort the day before, it is Jakub Dobes who is entrusted with an important challenge in only his second start in the National Hockey League. He will hardly be able to do better than in his debut, knowing that he blanked the defending champions, the Florida Panthers, during his baptism in the circuit on December 28.
On the Avalanche side, the recent acquisition of goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was beneficial. The Ontarian has a 6-1-0 record with his new team.
Also, the Canadiens will find their former forward Jonathan Drouin, who returned to play with the Avalanche on December 31. Drouin will be in only his eighth game this season, but he has already collected eight points, including three goals.
Patrik Laine misses a second game in a row. The Finn was also conspicuous by his absence Friday against the Blackhawks in Chicago due to flu symptoms. Michael Pezzetta will therefore still take his place in the training.
With a victory, the Canadiens could get within one point of the Ottawa Senators, who hold the last ticket giving access to the playoffs in the East.