MTL@WPG: What you need to know

WINNIPEG – The Canadiens are in Manitoba to play the Jets at Canada Life Centre on Monday for the opening game of a season-long, seven-game road trip.

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

1. The Habs closed out their home portion of the 2023 calendar year with a 5-3 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday on Christmas at the Bell Centre presented by Lafleur. Joel Armia, Josh Anderson (2) and Cole Caufield orchestrated a four-goal middle frame and Christian Dvorak sealed the victory with an empty-netter late in the game, closing the door on the Isles’ comeback effort. Samuel Montembeault turned aside 30 shots in the win to improve his record to 7-4-2 on the year.

2. The battle of the Barron brothers is on the horizon for Monday’s game. Justin and Morgan Barron go head-to-head for a third time in their careers in Canadiens and Jets uniforms respectively. To date, Justin, the younger of the two, owns all bragging rights having upended his sibling in each of their previous meetings on Jan. 17, 2023, and Oct. 28, 2023. Better yet, the Habs’ defenseman contributed in both of those games, tallying a pair of assists in the first outing, and scoring a goal in their most recent duel at the Bell Centre.

3. Sean Monahan leads the Canadiens in career points against the Jets with 19 (six goals, 13 assists) in 29 games. He’s followed by Brendan Gallagher with 17 in 25 contests (seven goals, 10 assists) and Nick Suzuki, who’s produced 14 (four goals, 10 assists) in 16 outings against Winnipeg. Anderson leads the current roster in goals scored against the Jets with nine markers in 20 games. The 29-year-old is coming off a multi-goal effort on Saturday that saw him earn first star honours which cued a standing ovation from the Montreal faithful.

4. The Central Division-leading Jets come into Monday’s matchup on a roll. They’ve won two straight and five of their last six for a 5-1-0 record in December. More impressively, they have not given up more than two goals against in any of those games. Together, Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit have held opposing teams to just 10 goals this month. On the other end of the ice, Mark Scheifele continues to pace the Winnipeg offense, posting 11-22-33 totals in 29 games. Kyle O’Connor (28), who's currently on the shelf with a knee injury, Josh Morrissey (26) and Nikolaj Ehlers (22) are next on the list. The Canadiens beat the Jets 4-3 (SO) in the teams’ only other meeting this season.

5. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. start local time). Habs fans can catch the game on Sportsnet or RDS, or tune in on the radio on TSN 690 or 98.5 fm.