Canadiens: Big Test Coming

It will be Hockey Fights Cancer night at the Bell Centre tonight as the Montreal Canadiens will try to keep their winning streak going against the Vegas Golden Knight. The Habs came out on top of their last two duels against the Edmonton Oilers and the Columbus Blue Jackets and won three of their last four games before they got a four day break.

While it may be a worry that the break will have messed with their momentum, it will also have allowed them to heal some bumps and bruises. The hope is the three intense training session they had this week will have help to keep the momentum going but we won't know until the puck drops tonight.

Bruce Cassidy's team currently sits sixth overall in the league and has a 5-4-1 record in their last 10 games and just put an end to a two-game losing streak by beating the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Thursday night.

The Golden Knights made the headlines yesterday for signing Brett Howden to a five-year contract extension. The 26 year-old is now in his fourth season with the Vegas outfit and was part of their Stanley Cup winning squad in 2022-23.

In the Canadiens' last game, Brendan Gallagher scored the 226th goal of his career, tying Max Paccioretty's production for 18th most in Canadiens' history and is now only seven goals away from Tomas Plekanec in 17th place. Given how well the alternate captain's season is going, it's not an unrealistic target at all.

Related: Canadiens: The Big Surprise This Season

The starting goaltenders are unknow yet, but looking at the stats against the Golden Knights, it's unlikely Cayden Primeau will get his first start since his debacle against the Buffalo Sabres. The seventh-round pick has only played once against the Vegas outfit, surrendering six goals and posting a .857 save percentage. Meanwhile Samuel Montembeault has a 0-1-2 record against them, with a 3.36 goals-against average and a .913 SP.

On the other side, Adin Hill has taken on the Canadiens five times and has a 4-1-0 record, a 2.77 GAA and a .907 SP. As for backup Ilya Samsonov, he has faced Montreal eight times and has a 6-1-1 record to show for it, with a 2.74 GAA and a .910 SP. When the Golden Knights last played on Thursday, Samsonov was on duty, signing a 3-2 win.

Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Jake Evans and Mike Matheson have all got two-game points streak and three points in that span, save for Suzuki who has two. Only one Canadiens players has reached double digits in his career against Vegas; Christian Dvorak. The center has 11 points in 22 games while the captain has nine points in eight games, and Mike Matheson rounds up the top three with seven points in 10 games. Sniper Cole Caufield has four points in three games while Kirby Dach is a point-per-game player against tonight's visitors with six points in as many games.

There are no active points streak for the Knights, but the Habs will want to keep a close eye on Jack Eichel who's put up 21 points in 22 career games against Montreal, William Karlsson who has 15 points in as many games and defenseman Shea Theodore who has 13 points in 11 games. Thomas Hertl also has 12 points in 15 games and Alex Pietrangelo rounds up the top five with 11 points in 22 games.

Related: Canadiens: Robidas Explains The Swap

Tonight's tilt will be the first of two between the two teams this season, the Canadiens will close out 2024 in Vegas this year, the return game being scheduled for Dec. 31. There has been a total of 12 games between the two sides so far and the Habs have got a 5-5-2 record to show for it. The visitors won the last duel 6-5 in Vegas with Primeau in net.

The Golden Knights have won the last six games (two went past regulation), and seven of the last 10. Montreal's last positive result against the visitors dates back to Jan. 18, 2020, before the pandemic broke out. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM and a win would go a long way toward boosting the Canadiens' fragile confidence.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens