Montréal Canadiens vs Utah Hockey Club Live Stream Online
🔊Which underdog can achieve success? Montreal occupies the last place in the East. The club has recently managed to secure a few victories, which, however, have not improved its standings. Utah, on the other hand, continues its road tour against Eastern Conference clubs and is struggling to earn points, gradually falling further behind the playoff eight in the West.
Head-to-Head
Utah is a newcomer to the NHL, so the clubs have not met before.
Montreal
The Canadian team has been sinking to the bottom of the standings for quite some time, suffering numerous painful defeats. However, in the second decade of November, Martin St. Louis’s team managed to defeat Buffalo (7:5), Columbus (5:1), and Edmonton (3:0). These local successes did not improve their standings but gave hope for future achievements. Nevertheless, it’s too early to talk about a full-fledged and quality improvement in results. The “Canadiens” play too chaotically and unsystematically.
Utah
The NHL newcomer embarked on an Eastern tour following two home losses – to Vegas (2:4) and Washington (2:6). This initially did not bode well for the club from Salt Lake City. And so it turned out; Andre Tourigny’s team lost to Boston (0:1) and Toronto (2:3), managing to earn points only in Pittsburgh (6:1). Utah’s tournament path is quite predictable; the selection of players in the lineup does not allow the team to regularly contend for success. The fact that the team is still clinging to playoff chances already deserves respect.
Projected Lineups
Montreal: Montembeault – Matheson, Guhle – Dach, Suzuki, Slafkovsky
Utah: Vejmelka – Sergachev, Määtä – Keller, Hayton, Schmaltz
Goalkeepers
Montreal’s goaltender Samuel Montembeault once again failed. In the game against Vegas, he conceded five pucks within 13 minutes and was substituted. This happens regularly with the Canadian. He can brilliantly “shut out” a star-studded Edmonton, only to then sleep through an entire game against the “Knights.”
Utah’s goaltender Karel Vejmelka has consistently maintained a save percentage of 91.4% over the last three matches but has only managed to win once. This indicates that he faces a large number of shots each time and consistently maintains a fairly high level.
Editorial Prediction
We are looking at teams whose encounters regularly end in blowouts, in both directions. Montreal’s young roster plays quite emotionally and strives to quickly build on any minimal success. It doesn’t always work effectively but often does so impressively. Utah, meanwhile, easily dealt with Pittsburgh’s relatively weak defense during their road series and could well showcase their scoring skills again. Our key bet is on a total of over 5.5 goals.
