Habs have lost their last 10 straight games against the Sharks while being outscored 41-14 and haven't won a game in San Jose since 1999.
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Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens’ game Thursday in San Jose against the Sharks (10:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM):
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Brutal start: To say the Canadiens are off to a bad start would be putting it mildly. They fell to 1-6 with Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to the expansion Kraken in Seattle and have been outscored 25-11 on the season. The Canadiens have scored one goal in five of their games and been shut out in another one. Their only victory was 6-1 over the Detroit Red Wings. After Tuesday’s game, the Canadiens ranked 28th in the NHL in average shots per game (27.4), ranked 30th on faceoffs (45.9 per cent), ranked 29th in penalty-killing (64 per cent, allowing nine goals on 25 opportunities) and ranked 31st on the power play (eight per cent, scoring two goals on 25 chances).
Shark-bitten: The Canadiens have lost their last 10 games against the Sharks, including a 5-0 shutout at the Bell Centre on Oct. 19 in their first meeting this season. The Canadiens have been outscored 41-14 in those last 10 games. The last time the Canadiens beat the Sharks was March 22, 2015, when they won 2-0 at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens haven’t won a game in San Jose since 1999, losing 12 straight since then while being outscored 50-24. The Sharks have a 4-2 record this season.
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Big bucks: The Sharks have a ton of money tied up in veteran defencemen Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns and Marc-Édouard Vlasic, along with forward Logan Couture. Combined, those four players have a salary-cap hit of US$34.5 million this season — which equals 42 per cent of the $81.5-million cap. Karlsson, 31, is in the third season of an eight-year, $92-million contract. Burns, 36, is in the fifth season of an eight-year, $64-million contract. Vlasic, 34, is in the fourth year of an eight-year, $56-million contract. Couture, 32, is in the third season of an eight-year, $64-million contract.
More big bucks: Forbes came out Wednesday with its list of highest-paid players in the NHL , including on-ice and off-ice earnings. Canadiens goalie Carey Price ranked fourth on the list at US$11.8 million, including $10.8 million in salary. The only players ahead of Price were the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid ($16.4 million), the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews ($12.2 million) and the Sharks’ Karlsson ($12.1 million). Price has yet to play a game this season and it remains uncertain when he will join the team after entering the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program on Oct. 7 for a minimum of 30 days.
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Carrying the load: Jake Allen is carrying the load for the Canadiens in Price’s absence and will get his seventh start in eight games when they face the Sharks. Allen has a 1-5 record with a 3.04 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage. Backup Samuel Montembeault is expected to get his second start of the season this weekend when the Canadiens wrap up their four-game West Coast trip with games against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday (4 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM) and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday (4 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM). Montembeault has an 0-1 record with a 5.00 GAA and a .861 save percentage.
Canadiens at San Jose Sharks: Five things you should know - Montreal Gazette
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