The Montreal Canadiens have persevered since losing captain Nick Suzuki to an upper-body injury, marking his first time missing a game since the start of his NHL career. They won the first game against the Chicago Blackhawks, before taking Sunday’s Heritage Classic over the Winnipeg Jets. The Habs now continue their Western Conference road trip against another Central Division opponent in the St. Louis Blues.
It has been an up-and-down season for the Blues thus far, including their last two games where they defeated the Stanley Cup runner-up Vegas Golden Knights 6-2 and then were shut out by the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes. It has been a bit of a gauntlet for them, as they’ll now face the team the Hurricanes defeated in the Eastern Conference Final, but Montreal is severely diminished with their injuries.
Joel Hofer has been holding down the net for the Blues, with Jordan Binnington filling in as backup. The Blues' young goalie has a 2.40 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage, improving year over year since joining St. Louis. The Canadiens have a great young goaltender of their own in Jacob Fowler, who is stealing the starting job from Jakub Dobes and Sam Montembeault. However, with Fowler playing back-to-back games, including the outdoor game, you’d have to think this is Dobes’ net on Tuesday. It makes for an intriguing story, as St. Louis is Dobes’ adopted home after moving there from Czechia to play minor hockey and still residing there in the summer since turning pro. Expect a goaltending duel either way in this matchup.
Canadiens vs Blues prediction: Under 6.5 (-130) available at the time of publishing. Playable to this number.
