Pittsburgh faces Montreal, looks to break 3-game slide

Pittsburgh Penguins (5-6-4, seventh in the Metropolitan) vs. Montreal Canadiens (4-12-2, seventh in the Atlantic)

Montreal; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

LINE: Canadiens +110, Penguins -132; over/under is 5.5

BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh comes into the matchup against Montreal after losing three in a row.

The Canadiens are 2-7-1 in Eastern Conference games. Montreal ranks third in the Eastern Conference with 30.5 shots per game and is averaging 2.1 goals.

The Penguins are 1-2-0 against opponents from the Metropolitan. Pittsburgh is 27th in the NHL with 35.3 shots per game and is averaging 2.8 goals.

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

TOP PERFORMERS: Nicholas Suzuki leads the Canadiens with four goals and has 14 points. Brendan Gallagher has two goals and four assists over the last 10 games for Montreal.

Jake Guentzel has 11 total points while scoring five goals and totaling six assists for the Penguins. Evan Rodrigues has three goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 2-6-2, averaging 2.3 goals, 4.1 assists, 4.3 penalties and 11.9 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game with an .898 save percentage.

Penguins: 2-6-2, averaging 1.9 goals, 3.5 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.2 penalty minutes while giving up 3.4 goals per game with an .896 save percentage.

INJURIES: Canadiens: Jake Allen: day to day (upper body).

Penguins: None listed.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by