The Canadiens vs Utah Mammoth game tonight at 7 p.m. (TSN2, RDS) closes a three-game homestand, and it brings one of the Western Conference’s early-season surprises to the Bell Centre. Utah is deep into a long trip through the East, and Montreal will want to bank points before Saturday’s trip to Toronto. As always with our advance previews, stats and standings are as of Oct. 28 and don’t include games played since.
Canadiens vs Utah: the visitors
As of Oct. 28, the Mammoth were 8-5-0 with 16 points, second in the Central Division and 6-4-0 in their last 10. Their own preview notes this stretch is a five-game East Coast swing and the start of six straight on the road, which kicked off in Pittsburgh on Oct. 29 and continued in Philadelphia on Nov. 1.
Their last home game before leaving was a feisty 3-1 loss to Minnesota with 52 penalty minutes, which the team called an emotional divisional matchup. Logan Cooley scored Utah’s only goal. Before that, the Mammoth beat Tampa Bay 5-4 in overtime on Oct. 24, a night when Dmitri Simashev scored his first career goals.
Utah’s start has been built on resilience. Earlier in October, the Mammoth beat Toronto 5-4 in what the team described as a resilient effort, after a 4-1 win in Buffalo. There have been rough nights too, including a 6-1 loss in Boston early in the season. Now in their second season as the Mammoth, they look like a team that expects to be in the playoff race.
Mammoth to watch
- Clayton Keller: the captain shares the team lead with 15 points.
- Mikhail Sergachev: the alternate captain has a team-high 12 assists from the back end, also 15 points.
- Nick Schmaltz: leads the team with seven goals.
- Logan Cooley: 12 points and a goal in the last home game.
- Karel Vejmelka: 6-4-0 with a 3.13 GAA, .881 save percentage and one shutout. Sebastian Cossa is the backup.
The Habs’ side
Montreal was 7-3-2 as of Oct. 28, second in the Atlantic. The goaltending story is rookie Jacob Fowler, who was 6-1-0 with a 1.54 GAA and .942 save percentage and was named the NHL’s third star of the week in late October. Cole Caufield led the team in goals and Lane Hutson in points from the blue line.
Keep an eye on captain Nick Suzuki. He was ruled out for two to four weeks on Oct. 22 with an upper-body injury, per the team’s update, which puts tonight inside his possible return window. Any change will be confirmed closer to puck drop, usually after the morning skate or through the team’s social accounts.
By the numbers (as of Oct. 28)
- Save percentage, starters: Fowler .942, Vejmelka .881
- Points: both teams at 16
Utah has the more productive offence on paper, with several players at or near a point per game, while Montreal has leaned on its goaltending and timely depth scoring. Rookie defenceman Simashev’s emergence gives Utah another option on the back end. For the Habs, this is a chance to show they can hold their own against one of the West’s better attacks without their captain, and to finish the homestand strong before a tough Saturday in Toronto.
Three keys for tonight
- Win the special teams battle. Utah’s last game featured 52 penalty minutes. Stay disciplined and make the power play count.
- Make Vejmelka move. An .881 save percentage invites quick puck movement and shots through traffic.
- Contain the blue line. Sergachev drives Utah’s attack from the point. Pressure him on the breakout and the Mammoth stall.
Next up
Saturday, the Habs visit the Maple Leafs at 7 p.m., hours after the Alouettes host the Eastern Final at Molson Stadium. Next week, the Bell Centre schedule brings the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, Nov. 10 and the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, Nov. 14, with a trip to Boston in between on Thursday, Nov. 12, according to the NHL schedule. It’s a demanding stretch, which makes every home point tonight count a little more.
Watching out? Our bars to watch the Canadiens list has you covered. For context, revisit our Heritage Classic recap, our October Sharks preview and our Habs Watch. More in our sports section. Go Habs Go!
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Photo: Jeangagnon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sources: NHL.com (Utah preview), NHL.com (Utah vs Minnesota), NHL.com (Utah vs Tampa Bay), NHL.com (Fowler), NHL.com (Suzuki), evenko
