Montembeault's Hot Hand Could Give Penguins a Cold Night in Montreal

The Montreal Canadiens are one of the original teams that formed the NHL in 1917, while the Pittsburgh Penguins were one of the original six expansion teams in 1967. Over the past 57 seasons, these two franchises have played each other in the regular season and playoffs, giving their respective fan bases memorable moments. The games between the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins could prove to be important ones when it comes time to count the playoff teams. To that end, Martin St-Louis has given Samuel Montembeault a second consecutive start and third one the past six days. The goaltender is off to a hot start with a 2-0 record and .986 save percentage, and might be just what the Canadiens need to counter Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Montreal’s lineup remains the same as it was in the win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The team has reassigned Alex Barré-Boulet to the AHL, and with injuries the only other option on the active roster is Michael Pezzetta, who once again occupies a spot in the press box for this game. Oliver Kapanen is playing all situations for the team, and Emil Heineman scored his first NHL goal on Saturday, so there’s no reason to tinker with anything in the bottom six, especially when the opponent is known for its lack of depth. Cole Caufield enters the game with four goals on the season, and now 12 in the past 12 games he’s played dating back to last year. Lane Hutson has put together consecutive two-assist games, and will be trying to keep that point streak going, and maybe even add the first NHL goal he’s come close to scoring in the past couple of games.

Penguins Look for Rebound Against Canadiens

The Pens gear up to take on the Canadiens in Montreal tonight. The Penguins have been up and down in the early season. They’re taking time to settle in and find their groove. Mike Sullivan: "I just think (we're) a work in progress, and it's a game of momentum. We've got to find a way to sustain it more consistently than we have to this point." The good news is Bryan Rust returned, the other effect is that had to push someone out of the lineup and it was Jesse Puljujarvi who was the odd man out on Saturday. The team likes Cody Glass who is carving out a little role on the fourth line and with his size. McGroarty appeared to hurt his leg in the third period against Toronto on Saturday but took practice yesterday in his normal third line spot and appears like he’ll be good to go. Nedeljkovic skated in practice yesterday but is not expected to be available for today’s game. That makes this one really important for Jarry to wash the pain out of opening night away and have a solid game tonight. Fast start this season for Evgeni Malkin. Sidney Crosby at 1,599 points is next!

Key Matchups to Watch

Malkin's Milestone Watch

Evgeni Malkin enters tonight’s game riding an active six-game point streak (4G-4A) against the Canadiens, and he’s notched 61 points (21G-40A) in 49 career games versus Montreal. He has more than double the amount of multi-point games (18) as he does games where he’s been held scoreless (8) versus them. Malkin enters tonight’s game just two goals away from becoming the 48th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals. When he reaches that milestone, Malkin will join teammate Sidney Crosby (592), as well as Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (853) and Nashville’s Steven Stamkos (555) as the only active players with 500-plus goals. Malkin, who has the third-most goals in Penguins history with 498 in 1,148 games, will be the 20th player in NHL history to score 500 goals with one team. Pittsburgh (Mario Lemieux & Crosby) is set to become the second team in NHL history with three 500-goal scorers, joining the Montreal Canadiens (Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau & Maurice Richard). Malkin is looking to join Ovechkin as the only Russian-born players in NHL history to reach the 500-goal plateau. In addition to being two goals shy of 500, Malkin notched his 1,300th career point on Saturday night in Toronto, making him the 37th player in NHL history to accomplish this feat. In doing so, he tied Hall-of-Famer Jarome Iginla for the 36th most points league history.

Crosby's Point Pursuit

After registering an assist on Saturday night in Toronto, Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby enters tonight’s contest one point shy of becoming the 10th player in NHL history to record 1,600 regular-season points. He’s looking to reach this milestone in the fifth fewest games. When Crosby gets to point 1,600, it will mark the first time that this milestone has been reached by an NHL player since Jaromir Jagr on Oct. 6, 2011. Sidney Crosby has recorded 64 points (23G-41A) in 49 career games against the Montreal Canadiens. He enters tonight’s game with points in 13 of his last 16 games versus them (6G-18A). Crosby’s 1.31 points-per-game average against Montreal is third among all active players and is tied for ninth in NHL history among players who have played at least 15 games against them. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have combined on 303 goals in their careers, which is one such effort shy of tying Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty for the third-most goals combined on by a forward-defenseman duo in NHL history.

Hutson's Rise

Many NHL teams were scared off in the pre-draft process by Lane Hutson’s (then) 5’8”, 150 pound size. He lasted until the 62nd pick before Montreal grabbed him. Still just 20, Hutson is bursting out on the scene as one of the league’s most exciting young players with his skating ability and skills. Hutson is an early-season leader in end-to-end rushes, he will grab the puck and keep going. Hutson is still small (measuring in at less than 5’10 and 162 pounds this training camp) but his skating and skills have rendered that irrelevant.

Predictions for the Penguins-Canadiens Matchup

The Canadiens have been a sieve defensively, but Sam Montembeault has done yeoman's work in net over his two starts. We expect that to continue against a Pens team that has yet to score at 5-on-5. This article contains predictions for an old game! Montreal Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault has won consecutive starts and will look to make it three in a row with a home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, October 14. Our top Penguins vs. Canadiens predictions and NHL picks expect another strong game from Montembeault in a low-scoring battle at the Bell Centre tonight. My best betSam Montembeault Over 29.5 saves (-120 at Bet99) My analysis The Montreal Canadiens are giving up shots in bunches, and their possession numbers remain among the worst in the league dating back to last season. Montreal finished 29th with a 47.1 Corsi For percentage at 5-on-5, and the Habs are at a 38.4% mark through the first three games of the year while allowing 34.0 shots per game. Habs No. 1 goalie Sam Montembeault has been spectacular to start, too. He’s turned away 72 of 73 shots for a near-perfect .986 save percentage and 2.00 goals saved above average per 60 minutes. Those numbers are unsustainably high, but they also reinforce just how impressive the 27-year-old tendy has been. This should also check out as a solid matchup for Montembeault to pad the saves column again. The Pittsburgh Penguins have driven possession at 5-on-5 with a 52.9 CF%, and they posted 31 and 28 shots in their first two games before being held to just 23 by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. With Montreal giving up so many shots and attempts and having poor 5-on-5 possession numbers dating back to last season, I anticipate the Pens rebounding and putting a lot of pucks on net again tonight. Pittsburgh has won the 5-on-5 possession battle in each of its first three games, after all. Penguins moneylineUnder 6Sam Montembeault Over 29.5 saves In addition to Montreal’s basement-dwelling possession numbers at 5-on-5, the Habs are also sporting an abysmal 30.1 expected goals percentage. While Pittsburgh hasn’t been much better (40.1 xGF%), the Pens also haven’t scored yet at 5-on-5, and the goals are coming for the Black and Gold considering they’ve generated the fifth-most xGF per 60 (3.44) at 5-on-5. Still, I don't anticipate this game turning into a track meet. As discussed, Montembeault has been hot to start the year, and Pittsburgh starter Tristan Jarry has been off since last Wednesday after allowing a six-spot to the New York Rangers. Montreal doesn’t have nearly the same offensive skill jumping the board as New York does, so this is a bounce-back spot for Jarry.