The Montreal Canadiens will look to close out a three-game homestand with a win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
The Canadiens were unable to carry on the offensive play they showed in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. Two days later, Montreal fell victim to former Canadian Lars Eller, who scored twice to help the Pittsburgh Penguins win 6–3.
“I don’t like to take credit from the other team,” Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said, according to the Montreal Gazette. “(The Penguins) came at us hard. They were aggressive, in our faces. We didn’t have a lot of time to make plays. At the same time, we I don’t think we were sharp. We just thought we were strong.” A little sloppy. ”
Montreal defenseman David Savard posted a minus-3 rating in this game, but dropped to minus-5 in his young season. He will play in his 800th career NHL game on Thursday and will look to do better.
“I think at some point we have a disconnect,” Savard said, according to the Montreal Gazette. “At other points, we feel like we’re all on the same page and playing really well. We have to find a way to be more consistent, even though there were times when we lost and it was more difficult to come out and regroup.”
The Canadians were steady in some respects, as Juraj Slavkovskiy scored on a power play early in the second period on Monday. Montreal converted on the man advantage in all four games this season.
“We made more mistakes than they did,” Slavkowski said. “I think that’s it. … Our own mistakes, like too many oddballs rushing at them. It’s tough because they have good players who can score goals.”
The Canadiens were scoreless against the Kings last season, losing both games 4-0.
Trevor Moore scored two goals against Los Angeles on November 25th and also scored on December 7th. Phoenix Copley rejected all 18 shots he faced in the first matchup.
Copley fired David Rittich after he scored four points on 14 shots in the Kings’ 6-2 upset of the host Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Copley was called up from Ontario of the American Hockey League, where fellow goaltender Darcy Kuemper was dealing with a lower-body injury.
Kevin Fiala and Alex Turcotte scored for the Kings on Wednesday as Los Angeles fell to 1-1-2 on the road in its opening seven games necessitated by arena renovations. Fiala has scored three goals in the past two games, but the Kings have lost three straight games (0-1-2).
“This ‘east-west’ stuff doesn’t work for us,” Kings forward Trevor Lewis said of the team’s recent open-ice approach. “We know what we have to do to be successful. We just have to agree and do it.”
The Kings played Wednesday without defenseman Joel Edmundson, who was away from the team as he and his wife were expecting their first child.
–Field level media
