The Montreal Canadiens ended their five-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. However, their schedule doesn’t get any easier as they head to Los Angeles for a matchup against the Kings less than 24 hours later. The Kings have also been struggling, posting a 3-6-1 record over their last ten games and dropping four straight before defeating the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. A lengthy break could help them regain momentum.
How to Watch: Montreal Canadiens vs. Los Angeles Kings
Date: Wednesday, February 5th
Time: 10:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM PT
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
Broadcast: TSN2, RDS, Fanduel Sports Network, FuboTV
Kevin Fiala has been the Kings’ top performer over the last five games, tallying three goals and two assists, but his contributions haven’t been enough to turn their fortunes around. For Montreal, Cole Caufield snapped his scoring drought on Tuesday, becoming the first Canadiens player in the last five games to record multiple goals in a contest. Nick Suzuki remains the team’s top point producer in that span with one goal and four assists.
Jakub Dobes is expected to start for Montreal after Sam Montembeault played on Tuesday. Dobes, who won his first five career starts, has since dropped two straight, but he could benefit from the Kings’ recent scoring struggles. On the other side, Darcy Kuemper is likely to get the nod for Los Angeles after a long rest. He put in a solid performance against Carolina, stopping 28 of 30 shots in the Kings’ victory.
Joel Armia and Jake Evans boosted their trade deadline value by connecting on a shorthanded goal in the third period Tuesday night to give the Canadiens the lead. The duo has been one of the league’s most effective penalty-killing pairs, and if Montreal moves them before the deadline, it would significantly impact their ninth-ranked penalty kill.
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