WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE BELL CENTRE
As part of Family Weekend in collaboration with Parc Omega and Tim Hortons, kids will take over the Bell Centre on Sunday! Game presentation will feature the national anthems sung by students and a young Canadiens Fan Club member as the mini in-game host, amongst other initiatives. Accordingly, childhood photos of players will be featured in-game.
Various Bell Centre restaurants will likewise be serving special brunch menus as of 11:00 a.m. to account for the early start time. Fans can make reservations at their spot of choice via this link.
TEAM COMPARISONS
The Lightning have found their form in February. Over four games this month, Tampa has collected seven out of the eight points available, highlighted by their current three-game win streak with back-to-back victories over the Ottawa Senators and, most recently, the Detroit Red Wings. Jon Cooper, who will lead Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre starting Wednesday, and the Lightning currently occupy third place in the Atlantic Division and are four points clear of a playoff spot—a ranking they seek to strengthen on Sunday.
Home ice hasn’t felt so homey for the Canadiens recently. Shutout for a second consecutive time at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Martin St-Louis’ club has struggled to find offense of late, averaging less than two goals per game while dropping seven of their last eight contests. That’s not exactly the ideal formula heading into Sunday’s matchup against one of the League’s top goalies in Andrei Vasilevskiy. But if there’s a silver lining, it's that Montreal has put eight goals by Tampa Bay netminders this season—a trend they’ll aim to continue this afternoon.
SEASON SERIES
Dec. 29 @ TBL: 5-2 MTL
Jan. 21 vs. TBL: 3-2 MTL
Feb. 9 @ TBL:
PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR
Brandon Hagel has been cooking for the Lightning of late. The 26-year-old has found the back of the net six times in his last five games and will look to stay hot at the Bell Centre where he’ll also represent Team Canada at the 4 Nations this week.
Jake Evans has scored in both games against the Bolts this season, including the game-winning goal in the dying minutes of the teams’ January 21 matchup in Montreal. For a Habs team struggling to produce offense right now, another big performance from their trusty, defensive centerman could go a long way toward rediscovering the win column.
BY THE NUMBERS: BOLTS-HABS
Here’s how the Lightning and Canadiens match up by the numbers:
