Game 16: Montreal Canadiens vs. Los Angeles Kings

Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Kings region: FanDuel Sports Network West
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+

The local fans of the Los Angeles Kings haven’t had much to celebrate this season. The team is 1-4-2 at Crypto.com Arena, scoring just 15 goals in the seven games at home which is second-worst in the league. They aren’t helping themselves defensively either with their 28th-ranked 3.43 goals allowed per home contest.

Things couldn’t be going more differently on the road. For whatever reason, they’ve been scoring about one more goal and allowing close to one less. That has resulted in a 6-1-2 record away from home that is keeping them in playoff contention. L.A. just dealt the Pittsburgh Penguins their second regulation home loss on Sunday, and have headed to Montreal looking to do the same in their second game of a six-game road trip.

It hasn’t mattered which venue the games have been played between the two teams recently, Los Angeles has been in full control of the matchup. Montreal was 0-2 last year, and has lost all eight games played versus the Kings since COVID put the NHL on hold. You have to go back almost exactly six years to the last Habs win, on November 9, 2019.

Tale of the tape

Canadiens
Statistics
Kings

10-3-2
Record
7-5-4

49.6%
Expected-goal share
49.7%

3.80
Goals per game
2.75

3.07
Goals against per game
3.00

27.9%
PP%
17.7%

78.9%
PK%
76.3%

0-2-0
Head-to-Head Record (24-25)
2-0-0

Cole Caufield (12)
Most goals
Kevin Fiala (7)

Nick Suzuki (16)
Most assists
Adrian Kempe (11)

Nick Suzuki (20)
Most points
Adrian Kempe (17)

There hasn’t been one player doing an outsized amount of damage in the matchup from the Kings’ side. Anze Kopitar has been slightly over his career scoring average with nine points in the eight games. Kevin Fiala has six points in six games, and Trevor Moore has scored four times. Quinton Byfield might be the one candidate who’s outperformed his typical play, with eight points in just five game played, although that’s far from an outlier given his play the past few seasons.

The biggest issue has been the lack of offence on Montreal’s side. The final meeting last season was the first time the Habs scored three goals during the losing streak, combining for only nine goals in the seven games before that. That game in February last season came as the Canadiens were starting to turn their offensive game around, beginning the shift that we’re currently seeing.

In 2024-25, the Canadiens had four players score 20 goals, a rare feat for the franchise that hadn’t been achieved since 2014-15. This year, there are eight players with at least four goals so far and on pace to hit 20. Montreal hasn’t finished a season with that many players hitting the 20-goal milestone since Mats Naslund’s rookie season in 1982-83. We could see a player or two fall off that pace before then end of the season, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see each member of the top six achieve that mark, and Kirby Dach’s recent form could help him get there. In any case, the Kings will be facing a very different team than they typically have in the past few years, and Montreal should finally be able to break through a defensive formation they’ve been stymied by for several years.