Allen vs. Power Panthers: Five things to keep an eye on

Posted On: December 30, 2023

SUNRISE | Historically, the Canadian has never had success against the Panthers at Sunrise. CH will try to reverse the trend to avoid a second setback since returning from the Christmas break.

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The journal offers you five elements to pay attention to.

1 – Still without Kovacevic

Martin St-Louis will opt for the same formation as in the last game against the Hurricanes in Raleigh. Johnathan Kovacevic will watch the game from the press bridge for the second game in a row. Gustav Lindström will also be left out. In the Swede's case, it will be the eighth game in a row in which he is not wearing the uniform.

2 – Gallagher in the middle of a drought

Brendan Gallagher has not scored in his last 20 games since November 11th. This lethargy goes unnoticed compared to Josh Anderson earlier in the season. Anderson waited until game 24 before scoring his first goal. Against the Seattle Kraken he scored into an empty net.

Since mid-December, Anderson has regained his confidence with five goals in his last five games. Only Nick Suzuki (10), Sean Monahan (9), Alex Newhook (7) and Cole Caufield (8) have more goals than number 17 (6). This statistic continues to be a good indicator of the underperformance of Canadian forwards.

3 – A departure for Allen

Following Cayden Primeau in Raleigh, North Carolina, Jake Allen will be tasked with defending the Habs' net. Allen recorded a 3-2 overtime win against the Jets in Winnipeg on Dec. 18 in his last start. He had previously lost seven games in a row (0-6-1).

Across the NHL, several teams are looking for a reliable goaltender. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers to note that these three teams have holes at this key position. A good performance from Allen against one of the circuit's greats could generate a little interest.

4 – Barkov in motion

Aleksander Barkov is always good. But he is even better against the Canadian with 43 points (23 goals, 20 assists) in 32 games. The Panthers captain is also at the center of a very good sequence with two games in a row and three assists. He achieved this feat against two good teams: the Lightning and the Rangers. Barkov added another record in the Panthers' record books by tying Jonathan Huberdeau for a franchise all-time high of 415 assists.

Photo credit: Getty Images via AFP

In 32 games this season, the Finn was on the top scorer list 38 times (11 goals, 27 assists). Sam Reinhart leads his team with 44 points.

5 – The misery of the sunrise

If the past is any indication of the future, CH will have another difficult game against the Panthers. The Canadian has lost his last seven meetings at the Amerant Bank Arena, formerly known as the BB&T Centre. Last year, Martin St-Louis' team suffered defeats of 7 to 2 (December 29, 2022) and 9 to 5 (March 16, 2023). We have to go back to December 28, 2018 to count the Habs' last win at Sunrise. Tomas Tatar scored two goals in the 5-3 win.