MTL@CHI: What you need to know

CHICAGO – The Canadiens’ out-of-conference schedule continues with an Original Six matchup against the Blackhawks at United on Friday – the team’s last go-round before the Christmas break.

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

1. Back-to-back overtime outings have set up the Habs with three out of a possible four points on their current seven-game road trip prior to Friday’s tilt with the Blackhawks. Less than 24 hours ago, Montreal erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to force a sudden death period in Minnesota, but it was the Wild who earned the upper hand this time around with Kirill Kaprizov sealing the game with five seconds left on the clock. David Savard, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky scored for the Canadiens, and all had multi-point nights. Mike Matheson was the fourth Hab with a two-point effort in the Twin Cities. Samuel Montembeault stopped 21 of 24 shots for the bleu-blanc-rouge, while Emil Heineman made his NHL debut on Thursday.

2. The Canadiens – and their fans – are no strangers to nailbiters this season. For a 13^th time in 2023-24, Thursday's contest needed an overtime period to decide on winner, tying a league-high in that department. An additional six one-goal games have been determined inside regulation, bringing Montreal's team total to 19 in 32 outings this season. The numbers show the Habs have been comfortable playing in the spot, holding a record of 10-4-5 in games of that sort. On the other end of the ice, the Hawks have played past 60 minutes just three times and are 5-4-1 in one-goal games of their own. The teams previously met in the Habs’ season opener at the Bell Centre on Oct. 14, which resulted in a 3-2 win for the good guys.

3. More numbers! Martin St-Louis’ contingent comes to Illinois on the tail end of a back-to-back, while Luke Richardson’s Hawks have not played since Tuesday. Advantage Chicago, right? Well, not necessarily. The Blackhawks are 1-7-0 on two days rest this season, while the Habs are 0-3-0 in the second game of a back-to-back. Something’s got to give on Friday, and for Montreal, it’s simple: score three goals or more, and your odds at bringing two points back home for Christmas increase significantly. The Hawks are 4-20-1 when allowing more than two goals this season and are 1-16-0 when scoring two or less. As for the Canadiens, playing with the lead has been their bread and butter. The Habs own a 9-2-2 record when scoring first and are undefeated at 7-0-0 when ahead after two periods of play.

4. The Blackhawks downed the 2022 Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2, in their most recent game action. Ryan Donato, Lukas Reichel and Tyler Johnson lit the lamp for Chicago and 18-year-old phenom, Connor Bedard, earned a point bringing his season total to 28 (12 goals, 16 assists). The 2023 first-overall pick leads his team in points and, to no surprise, paces all NHL rookies in scoring, too. The Hawks, who've been hit hard by the injury bug of late, have won just one of their last five games and look build momentum ahead of the Christmas break in the first of two games for the Illinois-based club this week. 

5. Game time is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET. Habs fans can catch all the action on TSN2 and RDS, or tune in on the radio on TSN 690 and 98.5 fm.