1.The Canadiens earned three out of a possible four points on their season-opening road trip to Toronto and Pittsburgh last week, before finally returning to the ice on Thursday night in front of the Bell Centre faithful for their home opener against Los Angeles. Head coach Claude Julien's squad is beginning a segment of four games in seven nights - all of which will be played on home turf.
2. It appears that Julien won't be making any lineup changes and sticking with the same group that offered up solid back-to-back efforts against the Maple Leafs and Penguins. That means that Tomas Plekanec and Nikita Scherbak will be healthy scratches up front again, while Karl Alzner will be the odd man out on the back end.
3. Six Habs will be making their home debuts, including forwards Joel Armia, Max Domi, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Matthew Peca and Tomas Tatar, along with defenseman Xavier Ouellet. Kotkaniemi's mother, Kati, will be in attendance to cheer her son on after making the 6,000 km trip from their family home in Pori, Finland to Montreal.
4. The Kings are coming off their first regulation loss on Tuesday night in Winnipeg, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Jets. Goaltender Jack Campbell made 37 saves in the loss, as starter Jonathan Quick is sidelined due to injury. Ilya Kovalchuk scored the lone goal for the Kings, his first since returning to the NHL ranks this season after a lengthy stint with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL.
5. Doors will open exceptionally at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday evening. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats at 7 p.m. for a special pre-game ceremony, followed by puck drop at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets,
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. The contest is available on TV on TSN2 and RDS, as well as on the radio on TSN 690 and 98,5 fm.
