GAME THREAD: Edmonton Oilers vs. Montreal Canadiens

Edmonton Oilers (23-17-3) 3rd, Pacific vs

Montreal Canadiens (18-19-7) 6th, Atlantic

09 January 2020

Bell Centre

500 PM MST

TV: Sportsnet West

Radio: 630 CHED

SB Nation Opponent: Eyes On The Prize

Edmonton walks into Montreal with a chance to pick up their 3rd straight win, which would rank second this season behind their 5-game winning streak to start the season. Mike Smith will get his 4th consecutive start while the Canadiens will go with Carey Price. Expect a desperate Montreal team as they are currently in the midst of a disastrous 7-game losing streak.

Edmonton’s Lineup:

Montreal’s Lineup:

3 Things To Watch For:

1. Brendan Gallagher looks like he will be returning to the Montreal lineup after missing the last 4 games with a concussion sustained against the Carolina Hurricanes on New Years Eve. Gallagher is a HUGE part of this Canadiens team and you can bet that his return will motivate the team heading into this one.
2. The goaltending matchup of Mike Smith and Carey Price presents a few interesting observations. Smith is riding high after two impressive wins against the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs but there is still questions about his game heading into tonight. While he did have an exceptionally good game against Boston (posting a .972 sv%) he did allow 4 goals against the Leafs this past Monday in a game that saw him post a .889sv%. On the other side of the ice will be Carey Price, who has struggled against the Oilers throughout his career. The 2015 Hart Trophy winner currently holds a 3-8-1 lifetime record against the Oilers and will be desperate to pick up win number 4 tonight.
3. Lastly, it looks like Jujhar Khaira will find himself out of the lineup tonight in favour for Sam Gagner. Speculation has been running rampant recently that the team might be considering waiving Khaira in order to give Tyler Benson a chance in the NHL. I’m guessing we’ll see that situation progress rapidly if Gagner has a bad game.