This is the third meeting between these rivals in four days, and I think the Canadiens are clearly the better team. They have won 16 of the last 21 meetings, and right now the Canucks are playing very sloppy defense; they allowed two shorthanded goals in the last meeting.

Montreal’s power play has been clicking on all cylinders to start the year and it has cashed in on 40 percent of its power play opportunities through three games ranking them #1. The Canadiens have also been solid in shorthanded situations, killing off 85.7 percent of their penalties for the season.
Vancouver is 0-for-18 on the power play and it ranks near the bottom of the league in both categories.


The Canadiens are the more physical team and rank second in the NHL in shots per game (36.0) and third in scoring (4.88). The Canucks rank last in goals against (4.78). Montreal is the play.