Montreal Sports - Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are back at home, taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first of a three game home stand. The Canadiens have yet to beat the Penguins in 3 attempts so far this season. The Canadiens still hold the edge in the overall series, with a 110-48-23 record (including this season).

The Canadiens (as of Friday evening) are still sitting in 6th place in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins are in fourth place, and have to be motivated by New Jersey's acquisition of Kovalchuk in their fight for first place.

The last time these two teams faced off on November 25th, the Penguins ended a 4 game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) for the Montreal Canadiens.

The Habs are currently riding a 2 game win streak, a win streak which has seen the emergence of a number one goaltender in Jaroslav Halak. Halak will be looking for redemption since he was pulled after allowing 4 goals on 23 shots when he met the Penguins on October 28th. He has played really well in his last 2 games, with a 1,92 GAA, and a save % of ,957. His counterpart in Marc-André Fleury has gone 5-1 in his last 6 games with a 2.14 GAA and a save % of .931.

The Canadiens already have a penchant for allowing Halak to get peppered with a lot of shots, and the Penguins have done just that regardless of who was in nets, having outshot the Canadiens 108-64 in 3 games.

In the lineup for that game was David Desharnais, and Ryan White, both of whom were called up by the Montreal Canadiens today along with Brock Trotter. In Trotter and Desharnais, the Bulldogs are losing their top two scorers this season.

Of course Sidney Crosby loves playing the Canadiens as he has scored 4 goals and 5 points in the 3 games he played. Both he and Malkin have been on a 2 point per game pace in their last 7 games.

The Penguins are more well rested, having played only 2 games so far in February, whereas the Canadiens have played 3 so far. The Canadiens are also in the midst of playing 5 games in 8 nights, beginning with Pittsburgh.

Tags: Crosby \ Desharnais \ Halak \ hockey \ Malkin \ Montreal Canadiens \ NHL \ pittsburgh penguins \ Trotter \ White