The Penguins' season is not living up to their expectations. They come to Montreal with the same number of points (27) as the Canadian. Nevertheless, a visit from Sidney Crosby always has a special character.
The Penguins captain and his teammates arrive at the Bell Center after defeating the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 last night. They ended a four-game winning streak.
For his part, the Canadian has only won one of his last eight games in front of his fans. Watch Martin St-Louis' morning press conference in the main video.
Here are 5 things to keep in mind while playing today:
1. Play inside
Martin St-Louis dedicated his training on Tuesday to playing near the opposition net. In his press conference, he mentioned that the work of his troops in this part of the rink was poor. Cole Caufield, who has scored just two goals in his last 15 games, could benefit from this advice to put an end to this difficult streak.
Photo Martin Chevalier
2. Missed golden opportunities
The Canadiens' attackers not only have to appear close to the opposing goalie more often, but they also have to be careful not to miss the opportunities that arise. Oddly enough, it's the same with penguins. According to statistics from Sportlogiq, these two teams take the least advantage of their chances. The Habs forwards should have 14 more goals on their record. And the penguins, 17.
Photo Martin Chevalier
3. Crosby continues his rise
Sidney Crosby continues to rise in NHL history. With two assists on Tuesday, he improved to 14th among passers (965). His next point would allow him to join Paul Coffey in 14th place in points (1531). He is also only three points behind Mark Recchi and in 13th place.
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4. Samuel Montembeault in front of the net
Samuel Montembeault will man the top of the Habs net for the third time in five games. He will look to get back to winning ways after last Thursday's loss to the Kings. His six wins equal those of Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau combined. Since the beginning of his career, the Bécancourois has won in each of his two starts against the Penguins.
Photo Martin Chevalier
5. Penguins awake?
Despite relying on top-notch personnel like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kristopher Letang and Erik Karlsson, the Penguins have struggled to take advantage of their massive offense. Since the start of the season, they have a poor efficiency of 11.4%. That's worse than the Canadian, which is at 16.7%. However, the Penguins converted two of their five chances against the Coyotes yesterday. They had not done this on their previous 36 occasions. Is this an awakening?
Photo AFP