Cats Looking To Feed Their Hunger For Goals With Canadiens In Town

After enjoying a three-day festive break, the Montreal Canadiens flew to Florida yesterday in readiness of today's contest against the Florida Panthers. When the Habs hit the ice yesterday, two things were confirmed: Cayden Primeau didn't make the trip following the Jakub Dobes call-up and Patrik Laine was healthy.

The Canadiens could have taken three goaltenders to Florida and still be within the 23-man roster limit, but they didn't. With the Holiday roster freeze ending when the clock stroke midnight, you can expect to see Primeau hit waivers today. It's a shame for the 25-year-old netminder, but his confidence has been shred to pieces and he needs to build it back up by playing games, which he couldn't do anymore in Montreal.

As for Laine, he was pulled out of the Dec. 23 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets after being targeted with four solid hits in the first 20 minutes of action. The Finnish sniper had ruffled some feathers with his comments about his former team and his former teammates decided to make him pay. It was a wise move for the Canadiens to pull him out of the game.

This afternoon's game against the reigning Stanley Cup champions will be the Canadiens' 115th meeting between the two sides. Montreal has a 50-52-6-6 record so far, but still won the last duel between the two sides by a score of 5-3. However, the Panthers have won eight of the last 10 tilts and are 7-3 in their last 10 games. They were shut out by the Tampa Bay Lightning before the Holiday break though and chances are, they'll be looking for blood (and goals) today.

Brendan Gallagher has got 23 points in 36 career games against today's opponent, closely followed by the above-mentioned Laine who has 21 in 18 games while captain Nick Suzuki comes in third place with 15 points in 15 games.

On the other side, Aleksander Barkov has 47 points in 35 games against the Habs, followed by Matthew Tkachuk with 28 points in 26 games and Sam Reinhart is third with 22 in 30 games.

In net, Samuel Montembeault has taken on the Cats seven times and has a 1-4-1 record, a 4.72 goals-against average and a .880 SP. He won't get to face the team that drafted him though, coach St-Louis has already confirmed Dobes will be getting his baptism of fire against the reigning Stanley Cup champions. It's not going to be an easy task as Russ Cohen explained yesterday. The Czech goaltender found out at 6:00 PM on boxing day that he's be getting his first taste of NHL action this weekend. His mother was visiting him in Laval and instead of flying back home, she headed for Florida to witness her son's debut in the big league.

Speaking to the media after yesterday's practice, the 23-year-old netminder appeared wise beyond his years when he said he just wants to take things as they come day by day. Asked about the tall task ahead he explained:

I want to play in this league, everyone wants to play in this league so you know, you have to compete against the best. You cannot hide as a goalie, so I will just got there, show myself, try to help the team and we'll see what happens. I' really excited to challenge myself against the best, I'm confident in my abilities and, as I said you know, we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Related: Dobes Against Florida Isn’t a Good Idea

Meanwhile, Carolina's main man has a 16-7-1 record against the Canadiens, with a 2.42 GAA and a .922 SP. As for backup Spencer Knight, he's only played them once allowing three goals on 31 shots, for a .903 SP. The Panthers confirmed that Knight would be taking on the Habs.

Speaking about Primeau, St-Louis explained his going through a process and he needs to go down to Laval to "rebuild" himself, he compared it to what veteran Joel Armia went through early last season. Of course, there is a possibility that he won't get to go to Laval if he is claimed on waivers, but given how he has played of late, it would be surprising if a team decided to roll the dice on him.

Related: Could The Senators Be a Landing Spot for Primeau?

This afternoon's game will be the first of four meetings between the two sides this season. They will meet again twice in March and once in April. Speaking to the media yesterday, the bench boss was asked how he handles the Michael Pezzetta situation and candidly reply this is one of the rare position he's never been in himself. The Canadiens' coach sure had times when he was in and out of the lineup in his career, but he's never been through an extended stretch of time where he had to sit out. He's confident the gritty winger will be ready to go when called upon and deliver though.

After the game, the Canadiens will be making their way to Tampa Bay where they have a date with the Lightning tomorrow. Samuel Montembeault will be claiming his net back to take on John Cooper's men, a tilt which is set for 5:00 PM.

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