Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Canucks game at Rogers Arena on Wednesday (10 p.m., TSN2, SNP, RDS, TSN-690 Radio):
The matchup: The Canadiens have had a relatively uncrowded schedule to date with their first three games spaced over six nights. Things become more difficult as they camp in Vancouver for three games in four nights. This game is the first of a back-to-back set. The teams meet again Thursday and wrap up the series — and the Canadiens’ six-game road trip — on Saturday. The Canadiens are one bad bounce away from a perfect record, but they have taken five of a possible six points. The Canucks reached the semifinals of the playoffs last season, but have started the season with one win and three losses.
Depth at both ends: Montreal’s depth has been the big story since training camp. Eight players have scored goals and Joël Armia, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Ben Chiarot are the only skaters who haven’t registered at least one point. The depth allows head coach Claude Julien to roll four lines, but also gives him flexibility when he is putting together a unit for the penalty kill. In Monday’s win over the Oilers, the Canadiens managed to kill seven penalties and Julien rotated different forwards on the PK.
Who’s in goal? Speaking of depth, Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin began his latest rebuilding effort by trading for goaltender Jake Allen to serve as Carey Price’s partner. While Julien isn’t hung up on numbers, you can expect Allen to play 20 of the 56 games and he looked sharp in his Canadiens’ debut Monday. He’ll get one of the three starts in Vancouver, most likely on Thursday, which would give Price an extra day of rest between starts. The Canucks are also using two goaltenders with Braden Holtby and Thatcher Demko. Neither one of them has enjoyed a good start, but Holtby has been much better and might wind up carrying the load.
Time for a change? Josh Anderson has missed shifts in each of the two games in Edmonton. Julien said there’s no reason for concern, but the power forward wasn’t as involved in Monday’s game as he was in his first two outings. While a warrior like Anderson would balk at the idea of taking some time off, he underwent surgery on his shoulder during the off-season and the Canadiens should make sure he isn’t risking further damage. This could be an excellent opportunity to dip into the taxi squad and give Corey Perry or Michael Frolik some ice time.
The other guys: Elias Pettersson, who was the rookie of the year in 2019, is the Canuck to watch, but the 22-year-old Swede has gotten off to a slow start and has only one assist in four games. Pettersson expressed some frustration Monday when he slashed Calgary’s Sean Monahan in the chest. The NHL’s player safety people weighed in Tuesday and fined Pettersson nearly $4,000, the maximum allowed under the collective agreement. Defenceman Quinn Hughes lost to Cale Makar in the Calder Trophy voting last season, but he’s a smooth-skating superstar in the making and he leads the Canucks with three assists, while Brock Boeser has a team-best two goals.
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