'Hockey Night in Canada': 5 Storylines

Four of the NHL's seven Canadian teams will take part in a "Hockey Night in Canada" doubleheader Saturday.

The Montreal Canadiens will complete a trip through Western Canada when they play the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in the first game (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SN1, TVAS, NHL.TV). The Canadiens split the first two games, losing 6-2 to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday and defeating the Calgary Flames 3-2 on Thursday.
The Oilers and Flames will play for the first time this season when they face off at Scotiabank Saddledome in the second game (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN1, NHL.TV).
Here are 5 storylines to watch:

Price finding his game for Canadiens

Carey Price has had more downs than ups so far this season but he looked like his old self in the win at Calgary. The Flames outshot the Canadiens 45-22, but Price made 43 saves and gave Montreal a chance to win after trailing 2-1 to start the third period. Price hasn't been sharp for most of the first six weeks of the season, but his play against Calgary provides hope that he's ready to turn the corner. Price (6-4-3, 2.99 goals-against average, .899 save percentage) is coming off his worst NHL season; the Canadiens need him to string together more efforts like the one in Calgary if they are to turn a better-than-expected start (10-6-3) into a serious push for a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Montreal's roller-coaster season

Price isn't the only member of the Canadiens who's had his ups and downs. Montreal leads the NHL with 47 goals scored at 5-on-5; however, its power play, scoreless in its past 12 opportunities, was next-to-last (12.7 percent; 9-for-71). The trade that brought forward Max Domi from the Arizona Coyotes for forward Alex Galchenyuk has been a success; he leads the Canadiens with 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists), and the line of Domi, Andrew Shaw and Jonathan Drouin has produced more than expected (46 points; 21 goals, 25 assists). But after a pretty solid October, Montreal has struggled on defense recently (allowing 21 goals in four games before Thursday) and won't get defenseman Shea Weber back until sometime next month. The result: it's almost impossible to know which Canadiens team will show up on any given night.

Canucks glad to be home

The Canucks, like the Canadiens, are off to a better-than-expected start (10-9-2). However, they're coming off a six-game road trip that ended with four straight losses, including regulation losses to the New York Rangers (2-1), New York Islanders (5-2) and Minnesota Wild (6-2). After the game against the Canadiens and a visit from the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, the Canucks play their next three games on a four-day trip to California. The Pacific Division has only one team that has won more than half its games (Calgary is 10-8-1), meaning the Canucks have a chance to remain in the playoff race. But they need to take advantage of their quick homestand.

Smith struggling for Flames

Flames goalie Mike Smith will not remember the game against the Canadiens fondly; he allowed two third-period goals after Calgary took a 2-1 lead on two second-period goals by Matthew Tkachuk. Smith (5-7-1, 3.48 GAA) has been fighting the puck for much of the season; his .876 save percentage is the lowest of any goalie who's played at least 10 games. Backup David Rittich (5-1-0, 1.91 GAA, .935 save percentage) has eaten into Smith's playing time. A visit by the Oilers could be just what Smith needs; he's 17-4-1 with a 2.35 GAA and .926 save percentage in 25 games against Edmonton.

Oilers hope Spooner will help

Two-time defending NHL scoring champion Connor McDavid is off to another fast start (26 points in 18 games, a pace of 118 points in an 82-game season). But in a season that has seen an upturn in scoring, the Oilers are 22nd in the NHL with 52 goals (2.89 per game). They made a move Friday for secondary scoring, acquiring forward Ryan Spooner from the New York Rangers for forward Ryan Strome. The Oilers hope Spooner, who had two points (one goal, one assist) in 16 games with the Rangers this season, will rebound to the form he showed after being acquired by New York in a trade with the Boston Bruins on Feb. 25, when he had 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 20 games.