Canadiens in the Pittsburgh Penguins: Five Things You Need to Know

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Here are five things to know about Tuesday’s game between the Canadiens (6-20-3) and the Penguins (14-8-5) in Pittsburgh. (7 pm, TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM):

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Canadiens fighting: The Canadiens are winless in their last six games (0-5-1) and have only two wins in their last 14 (2-10-2). They have scored two goals or less in 21 of their 29 games and rank 31st in the NHL in offense, scoring an average of 2.14 goals per game. The only team with a weaker offense is the Arizona Coyotes, who are averaging 1.78 goals per game. The Canadiens also rank 31st overall in the NHL, three points ahead of the Coyotes (5-20-2), who have two games in hand in Montreal. The Canadiens are 2-10-2 on the road.

Penguins on a roll: The Penguins extended their winning streak to four games on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks and have outscored the opposition 15-4 during that span. The Penguins are the best penalty shootout team in the NHL with a 92.4 percent success rate. The Penguins haven’t allowed a power play goal in their last 13 games, which is a franchise record. They have disallowed 30 consecutive penalties and allowed opponents just five goals in 66 power play opportunities this season. The Penguins have struggled in the power game, ranking 29th in the NHL with a 14.9 percent success rate.

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Nothing special: The Canadiens’ special teams have been anything but special this season. The Canadiens rank 30th in the NHL in power play (13.1 percent) and also 30th in killings on penalties (70.5 percent). In their last 14 games, the Canadiens are 3 of 32 in the power play (9.4 percent). The Blues were 2 of 3 in the power play when they defeated the Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday night in St. Louis.

Scoring problems: Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with totals of 6-12-18. To put that in perspective, Suzuki is ranked 107th on the NHL’s scoring list. Josh Anderson, who is offside with an upper body injury, leads the Canadiens with seven goals. There are 104 NHL players with eight goals or more this season. Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins in scoring with totals of 15-12-27, followed by Evan Rodrigues (8-11-19) and Kris Letang (1-16-17). Sidney Crosby, who has been limited to 15 games, has totals of 4-11-15.

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Injury updates: Jeff Petry, who has missed the last four games with an upper body injury, practiced with the Canadiens Monday in Pittsburgh in the fourth defensive matchup with Corey Schueneman. Petry appears on the day-to-day roster, but is not expected to play the Penguins. Brendan Gallagher and Sami Niku completed a 10-day quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, but head coach Dominique Ducharme said he does not expect them to return to the lineup before Saturday’s game at the Bell Center against the Boston Bruins. That means Gallagher and Niku will also miss Thursday’s game at the Bell Center against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Canadiens’ injury list also includes Carey Price (knee), Shea Weber (foot), Joel Edmundson (back), Paul Byron (hip), Anderson (upper body), Tyler Toffoli (hand) and Christian Dvorak. (not revealed). When the Canadiens played the Blues on Saturday night, the players missing from the lineup accounted for $ 53.7 million of the team’s total salary cap.

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