Canadiens at Canucks March 9, 2022: Five things you should know

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Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Canucks game Wednesday night at Rogers Arena (10:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN-690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

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The match-up: This game marks the conclusion of a five-game road trip and the Canadiens will be looking to avenge a 2-1 loss to the Canucks at the Bell Center on Nov. 29. Montreal is 3-1 on the road trip after beating Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa, while losing in Winnipeg. The Canadiens have won seven of their last eight games. The Canucks are coming off a 6-4 win over Toronto and are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games. Vancouver is on the bubble in the Western Conference playoff race. The Canucks are sixth in the Pacific Division, two points behind fourth-place Edmonton and they are four back of Nashville in the wild-card race.

Montembeault’s net — for now: Goaltender Sam Montembeault is the No. 1 goaltender by default, but there’s no guarantee that he will be part of the goaltending picture at season’s end. With the exception of a stinker last week in Winnipeg, Montembeault has turned in some strong performances of late, winning four of his last five starts. But he’ll be facing a challenge from Jake Allen who has been sidelined since Jan. 12 with a groin injury.

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Allen has been working out with a no-contract sweater, but could be ready as early as next week. And don’t forget Carey Price, who hasn’t played this season. There are reports that he has been skating in Montreal.

Halak is struggling: Jaroslav Halak, the goaltender who led the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference final in 2010 with series wins over Washington and Pittsburgh, will be in the backup role against his former team. Halak, who is one of only two NHL goalies under 6-feet, has the worst numbers of his career with a 2-6-2 record, a 3.42 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage and the 36-year-old may be in his final NHL season. The Canucks starter will be Thatcher Demko, a former US college star at Boston College. The 26-year-old from San Diego is putting up the best numbers of his career with a 26-16-2 record, a .917 save percentage and a 2.63 GAA.

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Don’t forget Lehky: There has been a lot of focus on the improved play of youngsters Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield since Martin St. Louis took over behind the bench, but Artturi Lehkonen is another player who has found his scoring touch. Lehkonen, who is valued for his tenacious defense of him, comes into this game with four goals and an assist in a four-game points streak. He has 11 goals and is second to Suzuki in team scoring with 25 points. Suzuki has four goals and eight assists over the last seven games and has 40 points. Caufield has seven goals and seven assists in the 11 games since St. Louis arrived.

crazy trade talk: JTMiller is the Canucks’ leading scorer by a wide margin with 63 points, including 22 goals. He has one season remaining on a contract with a relatively modest cap hit of $5.25 million. So why is he being mentioned in trade rumours? Quite simply, the Canucks are up against the cap, they need help on defense and most folks believe general manager Jim Rutherford can get a handsome return for the player who could be the best center available at the deadline. The second-best scorer on the team is defenseman Quinn Hughes, who has 40 assists to go with his four goals, but is most proud of the fact he has gone from being a double-digit minus to plus 8. Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat have 17 goals each, while Brock Boeser, another possible trade target, has 16.

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