MTL@VAN: What you need to know

VANCOUVER – The Canadiens look to get back in the win column when they visit the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Thursday.

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

1. The same can be said about each of the Canadiens’ two games on their current road trip: they lost, but they were not beaten. Much like the game against the Calgary Flames last Saturday, the Habs deserved better fate on against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, but ultimately fell 3-2 in overtime. Montreal spent 5:46 of the last 6:01 of the game (regulation and overtime combined) on the penalty kill and were 14 seconds short of killing a four-minute double minor, before Leon Draisaitl spoiled the party. Nick Suzuki scored his career-high 27th goal of the season, and Kaiden Guhle notched his fifth of the campaign in the loss. Samuel Montembeault shined bright again, making 29 saves in the blue paint.

2. Juraj Slafkovsky has continued producing steadily of late. The Slovak’s assist on Suzuki’s tally against the Oilers extended his point streak to five games, during which he’s generated six points (1G, 5A). Slafkovsky has 30 points in his last 39 games, an impressive metric by any count but even more so when considering he's only 19 years old. With his helper on Tuesday, the 2022 first-overall pick tied Stephane Richer for the second most points by a teenager in a single season in franchise history and sits only two points shy of tying Mario Tremblay’s record of 39.

3. The Canucks are in the midst of a nine-game homestand – the longest stretch of consecutive games at home for one team in the NHL this season. A little less than halfway through their more-than-three week stay at home, Vancouver is 2-1-1 with their most recent win coming against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. Elias Pettersson – the ‘Nucks second leading scorer – found the back of the net twice to propel the home side to a 3-2 win over Buffalo at Rogers Arena.

Rick Tocchet’s club is 22-7-4 on home ice this year and 43-18-8 overall, good enough for the top rank in the Western Conference. J.T. Miller is pacing the Vancouver offense with 89 points in 68 games, followed by Pettersson (82), Quinn Hughes (79), Brock Boeser (66) and Filip Hronek (45).

4. Five current Habs were selected at the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver: Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Alex Newhook and Jayden Struble. Since then, they’ve all taken different paths to Montreal. Caufield, who scored his 20th of the season last Saturday in Calgary, landed in La Belle Province out of Wisconsin University in April of 2021. Dach, who’s been bit by the injury bug the last two seasons, was acquired via trade in July of 2022. Harvey-Pinard got his first crack at the NHL in December of 2021, and became a mainstay in the Canadiens’ lineup when he was recalled from the Laval Rocket in January of 2023. Newhook, drafted 16th overall by Colorado, came to Montreal last summer in a trade involving multiple draft picks, and has produced 22 points in 41 games with the bleu-blanc-rouge. And finally, Struble, one of the biggest surprise stories of the 2023-24 season, made his way through the collegiate ranks before signing with the Canadiens late last season and making his NHL debut in November of 2023. Caufield, Harvey-Pinard and Newhook are in the lineup on Thursday. Struble is TBD, and Dach is out, obviously.

5. Game time is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET. Habs fans can catch the game on TSN2, Sportsnet Pacific and RDS, or listen in on TSN 690 and 98.5 fm.