The Montreal Canadiens will look to conclude their three-game homestand with a victory on Thursday after they face the Los Angeles Kings.
The Canadiens have been unable to hold over the aggressive play they confirmed in a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Two days later, Montreal fell sufferer to former Canadien Lars Eller, who scored twice to assist the Pittsburgh Penguins put up a 6-3 triumph.
“I do not prefer to take credit score away from the opposite workforce,” Canadiens ahead Brendan Gallagher stated, per the Montreal Gazette. “(The Penguins) got here at us onerous, they have been aggressive and in our face. We did not have loads of time to make performs. On the similar time, I believe we weren’t sharp. I simply thought we have been somewhat sloppy.”
Montreal defenseman David Savard recorded a minus-3 ranking in that recreation and dropped to minus-5 on the younger season. He’ll search for a greater exhibiting on Thursday when he performs his 800th profession NHL recreation.
“I believe at some factors we’re disconnected,” Savard stated, per the Montreal Gazette. “At another factors, it seems like all people’s on the identical web page and enjoying rather well. We have simply obtained to determine a method, even throughout these moments once we do not feel as related, to execute higher. The video games we misplaced we had occasions the place it was tougher to interrupt out and regroup. Now we have to determine a strategy to be extra constant.”
The Canadiens have been constant in a single regard, as Juraj Slafkovsky scored on the ability play early within the second interval on Monday. Montreal has transformed with the person benefit in all 4 of its video games this season.
“We made extra errors than them,” Slafkovsky stated. “I assume that is all it’s. … Our personal errors, like, so many odd-man rushes for them, and it is onerous as a result of they’ve good gamers that may rating objectives.”
The Canadiens did not rating any objectives in opposition to the Kings final season, dropping a pair of 4-0 choices.
Trevor Moore scored two objectives within the conflict at Los Angeles on Nov. 25, and he tallied once more on Dec. 7. Pheonix Copley turned apart all 18 pictures he confronted within the preliminary encounter.
Copley relieved David Rittich after the latter yielded 4 objectives on 14 pictures within the Kings’ 6-2 setback to the host Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Copley was summoned from Ontario of the American Hockey League with fellow goaltender Darcy Kuemper nursing a lower-body harm.
Kevin Fiala and Alex Turcotte produced the Kings’ purpose on Wednesday as Los Angeles fell to 1-1-2 throughout its season-opening seven-game street journey necessitated by area renovations. Fiala has scored three objectives prior to now two video games, however the Kings have dropped three video games in a row (0-1-2).
“This ‘East-West’ sort of stuff is just not working for us,” Kings ahead Trevor Lewis stated of the workforce’s latest open-ice method. “We all know what we’ve to do to achieve success. We have simply obtained to purchase in and do it.”
The Kings performed Wednesday with out defenseman Joel Edmundson, who was away from the workforce as he awaited the start of his first youngster together with his spouse.
–Area Stage Media
