Game 15 - Canadiens Vs. Jets: Still No Suzuki

At Monday’s Montreal Canadiens practice, just shy of two weeks after suffering an injury against the San Jose Sharks, Nick Suzuki was back skating between Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky. Still, the Montreal Canadiens confirmed that he won't play on Tuesday night when the Habs take on the Winnipeg Jets.

Tuesday’s tilt will be the second of the season between the two sides since they played one another just over a week ago at the Heritage Classic. With the NHL's eyes on the outdoor game, the Jets took 34 shots on net, but Jacob Fowler was nearly unbeatable, allowing only one goal while the Habs scored two and took the win. Montreal will wear yet another jersey as they debut their Hometown Remix threads, unveiled yesterday to mixed reactions.

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While Jacob Fowler won his last start, it wasn’t his best night, so the coach could have sent Jakub Dobes back in net, but he elected not to do it. Thanks to his stellar play since being called up from the Laval Rocket, Fowler was named NHL rookie of the month in October and won the Molson Cup, so he earned himself some leeway.

Both netminders have faced the Jets once and have come out on top with enviable stats. Fower has a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage after his Heritage Classic antics, while Dobes has a 1.38 GAA and a .938 SV after a 3-2 shootout win last March.

At the other end of the ice, Stuart Skinner would probably like a chance to get his revenge after losing the outdoor game, but he was lit up for five goals on Sunday when the Jets lost 7-0 to the Caroline Hurricanes. The netminder has a 4-3-0 record against Montreal with a 2.72 GAA and an .893 SV. The visitors currently have three netminders on the roster: Nico Daws, who’s 2-1-0 against the Habs with a 2.68 GAA and a .901 SV against Montreal, and Clay Stevenson, who has never faced the Sainte-Flanelle; complete the trio and are the two alternatives.

Up front, Phillip Danault leads all Habs skaters in points against the visitors with 24 in 32 games, followed by captain Nick Suzuki with 17 in 21 games and power forward Josh Anderson with 17 in 26 games. Chris Kreider is next in line with 16 points in 27 duels. The two big wingers are coming off a multi-point performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. As for Cole Caufield, he has nine points in 12 games against the Jets, including two assists last week, but Winnipeg remains the only NHL team he has never scored against.

For the Jets, Kyle Connor produces more than a point per game against Montreal with 29 in 25 games, followed by Mark Scheifele, who has 26 in 33 games, while Nino Niederreiter completes the top three with 18 points in 32 games. Scheifele will no doubt be looking for revenge after Fowler stopped him seven times at the Heritage Classic, including a couple of times when he looked to the heavens, likely wondering what on earth he had to do to beat the youngster.

Montreal has won six of the last 10 duels between the two sides, including the last three games, and is off to a much better start to the season than the visitors. The Habs have 20 points and are fifth in the league, but have games in hand on the first four teams, while the Jets are currently 28th overall, have lost their last five games, and are 1-7-2 in their last 10. The game is set for 7:00 PM; you can catch it in French on RDS and in English on TSN 2. Alex Lepkowski and Chris Rooney are the referees, while Shandor Alphonso and Jonathan Deschamps are the linesmen.

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