Canadiens in Panthers: 5 things you need to know

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Here are five things to know about the Canadiens-Panthers game at FLA Live Arena on Saturday (13:00, TSN2, RDS, TSN-690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

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The match: This is the end of a three-game road trip for the Canadiens, who secured an overtime point in Tampa on Tuesday before being eliminated 4-0 in Carolina on Thursday. Montreal is last in the Atlantic Division with a 7-22-4 record. The Canadiens have the worst road record in the NHL at 2-12-3. Florida is second in the Atlantic Division with a 20-7-4 record after defeating Tampa Bay 9-3 on Thursday. The Panthers, who are 16-3-0 at home, the best record in the NHL, are two points behind first-place Lightning in the division and also have a game in hand.

The goalkeepers: The Montreal special teams were anything but Thursday as they disappointed Sam Montembeault. Montembeault, who will face his old team, was perfect in 5v5 situations, but the Hurricanes scored three power play goals and added a short goal. He has given up at least three goals in each of his eight starts and is 1-5-2 with an average of 3.85 goals against and a save percentage of .892. The Panthers are expected to start two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky. The Russian veteran is 13-3-2 with a GAA of 2.49 and a .917 save percentage. Bobrovsky has a career record of 11-7-1 against Montreal with a GAA of 2.32.

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Where is the offense? Scoring goals has been a challenge for Canadians. They are averaging 2.12 goals per game and the only team with the worst record is Arizona at 2.10. Nick Suzuki is Montreal’s leading scorer with 18 points, including six. But Suzuki has gone six games without a point and it has been difficult for him to develop chemistry with a rotating cast of characters as his linemates. Suzuki had some chemistry with Cole Caufield in the playoffs, but Caufield is struggling in his first full professional season. Caufield has one goal and six assists and hasn’t lived up to his reputation as a sniper. He has 61 shots on goal for a shooting percentage of 1.6 percent.

There is a life after COVID: Jonathan Huberdeau exited the NHL’s COVID protocol earlier this week and was quick to regain his form. Huberdeau had a night of five points, one goal and four assists in the Panthers’ loss to the Lightning. The St-Jerome native leads the Panthers in scoring with 38 points. That’s good for fifth in the NHL scoring run and he’s tied for second in assists with 27. Another Quebecer, Pointe-Claire’s Anthony Duclair, is Florida’s top scorer at 12. He reached the 100 milestone. goals Thursday with the first of his two goals. Aleksander Barkov has equaled Huberdeau’s 11 goals and has 20 points despite missing 13 games through injury.

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Life with COVID: Brandon Baddock made his NHL debut Thursday against Carolina, but will not be in the lineup for this game because he was placed on the NHL’s COVID protocol on Friday. The Canadiens hope he doesn’t get too close to his new teammates because his positive test was taken before Thursday’s game, but the result didn’t come until Friday morning. The addition of Baddock means there are now 13 Montreal players on the protocol alongside goalkeeping coach Eric Raymond. Brendan Gallagher has recovered from his fight with COVID, but will likely miss the Florida game with a lower body injury sustained mid-game by Carolina. He will be replaced by Cam Hillis, who will play his first NHL game.

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