MTL@COL: What you need to know

DENVER – Martin St-Louis returns to the Canadiens’ bench in Denver, where the team will complete a five-game road trip against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Tuesday.

Here’s everything you need to know heading into the game:

1. Montreal gets their leader back in St-Louis just in time for one of their toughest tests of the season tonight in Colorado. The Canadiens announced on Monday evening that the team’s head coach, who was absent for family reasons since March 16, rejoined the team in Denver. St-Louis’ return is an added boost for the Habs, who enter Colorado with confidence on the heels of a 5-1 rout of the Seattle Kraken on Sunday. Kaiden Guhle racked up three points, Mike Matheson scored and was plus-five, Alex Newhook netted a pair, Nick Suzuki tallied two points and Cayden Primeau made 36 saves in the one-sided affair.

2. Speaking of returns, Newhook makes his way back to Denver on Tuesday for the first time since being acquired by the Canadiens via trade on June 27, 2023. The forward spent three seasons with the Avs and won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022. “This one’s definitely been circled on the calendar ever since the summer,” Newhook said after practice on Monday. “[I’m] looking forward to getting back in that building. It’s going to be a little weird being on the other side of it, but I have a lot of great memories there and it’s going to be a special one, for sure.” The Newfoundlander has 24 points (12G, 12A) in 43 games in his first season with the Habs.

3. Juraj Slafkovsky is one point away from rewriting history on Tuesday. With a goal or an assist against the Avalanche, the 19-year-old would break the record for most points by a teenager in a season in Canadiens history. Slafkovsky tied Mario Tremblay’s current record of 39 points with an assist on Newhook’s second goal of the game against the Kraken. In the same breath, a point tonight would see the Slovak national equal his career-best eight-game point streak, a feat he previously achieved from January 25 to February 17.

4. The Avalanche (46-20-5) are the hottest team in the National Hockey League heading into Tuesday’s meeting. Colorado overcame a four-goal deficit against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday to earn their ninth consecutive win. Jared Bednar’s contingent is currently tied for second in the NHL’s overall standings and shares the top spot in the Central Division with the Dallas Stars.

Nathan MacKinnon is looking to extend his home point streak to 35 games on Tuesday. The Halifax, NS native’s current 34-game streak – during which he’s posted 28-48-76 totals – is the second longest stretch in history, per the NHL’s Public Relations department. Tonight, the Canadiens will see familiar faces in Jonathan Drouin and Artturi Lehkonen when the puck drops at Ball Arena. The former Habs have 46 and 25 points this season, respectively.  

5. Tonight’s starting goalie and any possible lineup changes have yet to be confirmed, but St-Louis and select players will address the media around 2:00 p.m. ET from the hotel in Denver. Game time is set for 9:00 p.m., and can be viewed on TSN2 and RDS, or heard on TSN 690 and 98.5 fm.