Game 56: Montreal Canadiens @ Minnesota Wild

Start time: 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST
In the Canadiens regions: RDS (French)
In the Wild region: FanDuel Sportsnet North/Wisconsin
Streaming: Prime Monday Night Hockey

In previewing the recent Montreal Canadiens game against the Colorado Avalanche, it was pointed out how mediocre the leaders of the Central Division were in January. Starting the first month of 2026 with a 5-4-2 record, the Minnesota Wild finished strong with three consecutive wins, the first time they’d achieved that since mid-December.

Helping the cause were the returns of Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy, both of whom enter tonight’s game on four-game point streaks. They each played a part in walloping the Edmonton Oilers 7-3 on Saturday night, with Eriksson Ek one of seven different Wild players to score in the match.

It’s probably fair to assume the Canadiens aren’t going to outshoot the Wild 33-20 tonight the way they did at the Bell Centre two weeks ago. It’s a very different level Minnesota is playing at now, the one that got them to one of the top places in the league through the opening half of the season. They start tonight’s game fourth in the league, and might be looking at Colorado’s recent slump as a chance to make a run at closing the gap to the top seed.

Tale of the Tape

Canadiens
Statistics
Wild

31-17-7
Record
32-14-10

49.1% (23rd)
Expected-goal share
49.4% (18th)

3.44 (4th)
Goals per game
3.25 (12th)

3.24 (22nd)
Goals against per game
2.82 (7th)

23.8% (7th)
PP%
25.0% (6th)

77.1% (26th)
PK%
77.9% (24th)

1-0-0
Head-to-Head Record
0-1-0

Cole Caufield (32)
Most goals
Kirill Kaprizov (30)

Lane Hutson (47)
Most assists
Kirill Kaprizov (37)

Nick Suzuki (64)
Most points
Kirill Kaprizov (67)

Montreal has also won three games in a row coming into tonight, playing some good hockey of late, but with the odd poor stretch thrown in here and there. In the last two games versus the Buffalo Sabres there was a full bad period for the Canadiens, though they recovered well following a near disastrous second frame on Saturday night for the win. The other most notable rough performance came during the penalty kill on January 24 versus the Boston Bruins, spoiling an otherwise great performance with three goals against. It’s important that the Habs, helped by the stellar play of Jakub Dobeš, have recovered during this winning streak to allow just one goal while short-handed, because the Wild possess one of the best man advantages in the league.

That power play is currently playing the best it has since netting 10 goals in the opening four games of the season. The Wild have only failed to score a goal on the man advantage one time in the last eight games, and on four occasions in that span have potted two, including Saturday night in Edmonton. In Minnesota’s loss in Montreal, Vladimir Tarasenko scored two power-play goals, so the Habs should know what to expect.

The starting goaltenders are yet to be determined for today’s matchup, but you have to think that Samuel Montembeault will get one of these final two starts before the Olympic break. Will that come tonight in Minnesota, or will Martin St-Louis wait for the weaker opponent, the Winnipeg Jets, hoping Montembeault can claim a win and carry some confidence into the pause? There’s no question that Dobeš is giving the Canadiens the best chance to win at the moment, having won six games in a row and sporting an 8-0-1 record in his last nine starts, playing great hockey now with consistent game action. If the players want to treat this as another measuring-stick game to see if they can compete with a contender, Dobeš is the choice to give them the chance to prove that they can.