The Montreal Canadiens face the Arizona Coyotes with both teams looking to improve from rough starts to the season. The Canadiens have a 14-15-2 record and with three losses in a row have fallen to the bottom of the Atlantic Division. The Coyotes have a 10-15-4 record and with only three wins in the last 10 games, have the second-worst record in the Central Division. Both teams are looking to climb out of the bottom of their divisions and the upcoming game looks to be a good one as a result.
The Canadiens are having a rough season with their offense struggling and scoring only 2.74 goals per game. While Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Kirby Dach have scored 38 goals and 41 assists to lead the top two lines, the rest of the offense has struggled. Only six skaters have scored six goals or more while only six skaters have nine assists or more and opposing defenses can eliminate the hapless offense as a result.
The offense has struggled but the defense has been awful, allowing 3.55 goals per game with only 13 goals in the last three games. Jordan Harris and Johnathan Kovacevic have combined for 2.3 defensive point shares and 73 blocked shots but the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing opponents to carry the puck into the offensive zone and find open shots on the net. In addition, goaltender Jake Allen has struggled in the net with a .897 save percentage and a 3.33 goals-again st average on 681 shots.