Dec. 3, 2022: Canadiens at Oilers — five things you should know


Both teams have dynamic duos when it comes to offence with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield vs. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

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EDMONTON — Here are five things you should know about Saturday’s game between the Canadiens (12-10-1) and the Edmonton Oilers (13-11) at Rogers Place (7 p.m., CBC, SN360, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

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Dynamic duo: Cole Caufield’s team-leading 13th goal of the season on a power play was the winner in the Canadiens’ 2-1 victory over the Flames Thursday in Calgary. It came on a one-timer off yet another beautiful pass from captain Nick Suzuki, who picked up his team-leading 13th assist. Through Thursday’s games, Caufield was tied for 10th in the NHL in goals and was on pace to score 46 this season. Suzuki has 12 goals and leads the team in scoring with 25 points, three ahead of Caufield. This will be the second game of a four-game road trip for the Canadiens before games in Vancouver on Monday and Seattle on Tuesday.

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Another dynamic duo: The Oilers are led by their dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Through Thursday’s games, McDavid led the NHL in scoring with 19-24-43 totals and Draisaitl ranked third (16-22-38), one point behind the Dallas Stars’ Jason Robertson (22-17-39). McDavid has been held off the scoresheet four times this season, while Draisaitl has been held off the scoresheet only three times. The Oilers are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Wild Thursday in Minnesota.

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Allen still No. 1: After Sam Montembeault won back-to-back games last week in Columbus and Chicago — stopping 60 of the 63 shots he faced for a .952 save percentage — Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis gave Jake Allen a vote of confidence, saying he was still the team’s No. 1 goalie. Allen certainly looked like a No. 1 goalie against the Flames, stopping 45 of the 46 shots he faced to improve his record to 7-8 with a 3.40 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage. “I know what Jake can do,” St. Louis said after the game. “I don’t think I was surprised or smiling (about his performance). This is just what he does.” Montembeault has a 5-2-1 record with a 2.48 GAA and a .924 save percentage.

Power-play boost: The Canadiens’ power play got a boost with Caufield’s goal against the Flames as they went 1-for-3 with the man advantage in Calgary. But the Canadiens still ranked 29th in the NHL on the power play through Thursday’s games with a 15.7 per cent success rate and they are 2-for-20 with the man advantage in their last five games. The Oilers rank fifth in the NHL on the power play with a 27.6 per cent success rate. The Canadiens have 11 power-play goals this season, while the Oilers have 24, led by Draisaitl with nine and McDavid with eight.

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Penalty-kill working: The Canadiens killed off all four of the Flames’ power plays and ranked sixth in the NHL in penalty-killing through Thursday’s games with an 82.3 per cent success rate. The Canadiens have killed off 15 of 16 power plays in the last four games. The Oilers rank 27th in penalty-killing with a 71.6 per cent success rate.

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