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GDT: Sabres @ Montreal 7pm 3/12/20


bob_sauve28

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Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Sabres game at Bell Centre Thursday (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio)

The matchup: This is a game between two teams with more incentive to lose as they look forward to the entry draft in June. The Canadiens, who have lost three in a row, are 12th in the Eastern Conference standings with 71 points, which is 10 points out of a playoff spot. Following the loss to Nashville Tuesday, the geeks at sportsclubstats.com have determined Montreal has zero chance of making the playoffs. Buffalo is three points back of Montreal, but the Sabres, who are coming off a 3-2 shootout win over Washington Monday, hold two games in hand.

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Jonathan Drouin is poised to rejoin the Canadiens lineup after missing six games with an ankle injury. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette

Drouin ready to return: Jonathan Drouin is poised to rejoin the lineup after missing six games with an ankle injury. The tipoff  came Tuesday when the Canadiens returned Lukas Vejdemo to the Laval Rocket. That move came two hours after Vejdemo scored his first NHL goal in the 4-2 loss to Nashville. Drouin lined up on the top line with Phillip Danault and Joel Armia at practice Wednesday as coach Claude Julien tries to give Drouin the best chance to succeed. Drouin, who had a great start to the season, has no points in eight games since he returned after missing nearly three months with a wrist injury.

Top players aren’t producing: Coaches are fond of saying your best players have to be your best players, but that hasn’t been the case for the Canadiens of late. Montreal has scored only three goals during its three-game losing streak and none of those goals was scored by a player on the top two lines. The Canadiens were shut out in Tamps and rookie Jake Evans scored the lone goal in on a 4-1 road loss to the Panthers. On Tuesday, the goal-scorers were Vejdemo, who was an  emergency call-up after Drouin was injured, and Artturi Lehkonen, who ended a 16-game goal drought.

And now for something different: The  Canadiens have been giving the overworked Carey Price lots of time off and it was no surprise that he wasn’t on the ice Wednesday. What was surprising was an announcement from the team that Price was engaged in off-ice workouts. The change in routine might be an attempt to get Price back on track because he continues to be a model of inconsistency. After a strong first period Tuesday, he surrendered four goals in the second period. He has allowed at least four goals in six of his last nine starts.

Eichel leads the way: Jack Eichel, who was the consolation prize behind Connor McDavid in the 2015 draft, has developed into an elite player. He’s among the top 20 scorers in the league with 78 points and is tied for sixth in goals with 36. Victor Olofsson, a 24-year-old rookie from Sweden, would have been in the Calder Trophy conversation if he hadn’t missed 15 games with an injury. He has 20 goals and 42 points to rank fourth in the rookie scoring race, one point ahead of the Canadiens’ Nick Suzuki. Sam Reinhart has chipped in with 22 goals, while Jeff Skinner has 14.

Edited by bob_sauve28
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Would be absolutely shocked if this or any NHL games go on tonight. While some can argue we may look back as an overreaction (let's hope that is the case), I do think the season should stop now for a bit, its the right call. The NHL cannot afford the massive PR hit that would come from the biased media, and must follow what the NBA did and put the season on hold until further notice.

Edited by Ruff Around The Edges
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This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a VERY SPECIFIC REASON to revive this one.

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