"That's how they play. That's their style, and you kind of expect it every time you play them," described Brendan Gallagher, who often feels the brunt of that physicality from his usual spot in the blue paint. "They're going to do that, and for us it's going to be important to be ready to compete and to battle. Those are the fun games to play, so hopefully we enjoy it."
Adding to the enjoyment for some will be the rare 1:00 p.m. start time.
"I definitely love the matinee games, big fan," admitted defenseman Karl Alzner, who took part in seven afternoon tilts as a member of the Washington Capitals in 2016-17. "Anything in the afternoon is good -- 7:30 p.m. is a little late in my opinion, but I understand it for the fans trying to get to the game. I'm excited about it. I think [early games] are good."
The Habs have won their last two at home against the Ducks, with a pair of 5-1 and 4-3 decisions dating back to March 22, 2016.
Antti Niemi will be in goal for Montreal to kick off Super Bowl weekend as the Canadiens look to extend that streak on Saturday.
NO OFFENSE, BUT…
With just one goal in their last two games on the road, the Habs will be looking for answers on offense back home.
"It's obviously not something we're happy about, but frustration won't get us anywhere. Regardless of the situation that we're in, we've still got to keep working towards solutions, and that's what we're going to do every day. It hasn't been there for the first 50 games of the year, but for us right now, we're going to continue to work. We get no satisfaction out of quitting, so we're going to continue to grow together as a group and try to find the answer," stressed Gallagher, who leads the club in goals, with 18.
"We'd all like to be scoring more goals, but doing so is not easy. You have to be willing to get into the tough areas -- to compete and battle," continued the 25-year-old assistant captain. "Sometimes it's the easier option to stay on the perimeter and feel like you're getting your shots and your chances. But there are always better opportunities to be had if you can get to the inside. It's something that we've obviously got to do better, and when we do, the goals will probably start to come."
With just 31 games remaining on the schedule however, the Habs may begin looking outside the box to spark things a little sooner.
"You've got to get creative. Look at Carolina [last game] -- every single one of their faceoffs, they seemed to have something going on -- a play, whatever," hinted Alzner. "It gets the other team thinking, and maybe thinking about what they're supposed to be doing a little bit more. You need to try to outsmart teams, because everybody watches video and knows typically what their opponents are going to do. The funkier you can get with some things, sometimes the better it can be. But you don't want to rewrite the book, so it's a balancing act."
