Slumping Habs: The Canadiens are on a five-game losing streak and are 2-8-0 in their last 10 games. They have scored only nine goals in the last five games, including Saturday’s 8-4 loss to the Washington Capitals at the Bell Centre. This is the worst stretch the Canadiens have had since Martin St. Louis took over as head coach on Feb. 9. Their longest winless streak this season is 10 games (0-8-2), the first seven under Dominique Ducharme before St. Louis took over. The Canadiens have the second-worst record in the NHL and are two points ahead of the last-place Arizona Coyotes (22-49-5), who lost 5-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes Monday night. Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with 20-37-57 totals, followed by Cole Caufield (18-20-38) and Mike Hoffman (11-18-29).
Price back in goal: Carey Price will make his second start this season after stopping 17 of 19 shots in last Friday’s 3-0 loss to the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre (the third goal was an empty-netter). It was Price’s first game since knee surgery last July to repair a torn meniscus, followed by a 30-day stay in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program to deal with substance-use issues. Samuel Montembeault allowed eight goals on 41 shots against the Capitals and now has a 7-17-6 record this season with a 3.78 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage.
