Montreal faces Chicago on 4-game losing streak

Chicago Blackhawks (9-14-2, seventh in the Central) vs. Montreal Canadiens (6-18-3, seventh in the Atlantic)

Montreal; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

LINE: Canadiens -106, Blackhawks -114; over/under is 5.5

BOTTOM LINE: Montreal aims to stop its four-game losing streak with a victory against Chicago.

The Canadiens have gone 4-9-1 in home games. Montreal averages 9.8 penalty minutes per game, the sixth-most in the Eastern Conference. Brendan Gallagher leads the team serving 24 total minutes.

The Blackhawks are 4-8-1 on the road. Chicago is last in the Western Conference averaging only 3.7 assists per game. Seth Jones leads the team with 19 total assists.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nicholas Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 12 assists and has 18 points this season. Josh Anderson has four goals over the last 10 games for Montreal.

Jones leads the Blackhawks with 19 total assists and has 22 points. Alex DeBrincat has 10 points over the last 10 games for Chicago.

LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 2-7-1, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.2 assists, 3.6 penalties and 10.6 penalty minutes while giving up 3.7 goals per game with a .903 save percentage.

Blackhawks: 5-5-0, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.3 assists, 2.8 penalties and seven penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game with a .914 save percentage.

INJURIES: Canadiens: Sami Niku: out (covid-19), Brendan Gallagher: out (covid-19 protocol), Josh Anderson: out (upper body), Christian Dvorak: day to day (undisclosed).

Blackhawks: Jujhar Khaira: day to day (undisclosed).

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