Montreal’s hot streak and a recent head-to-head edge meet a Winnipeg team desperate to stop its skid.
Montreal arrives at Centre Bell on a five-game winning streak, with a 9-3-2 record and 20 points; Winnipeg is 4-8-3 with 11 points after nine straight losses. The gap shows in the power index too: the Canadiens rank ninth at 68.1, while the Jets sit 28th at 39.1. Montreal won the teams’ only meeting this season, 2-1 in Winnipeg, and Cole Caufield’s eight goals in 14 games give the Canadiens a potent counter to Kyle Connor, who leads the Jets with 11 goals in 15 games. Winnipeg needs Connor and Mark Scheifele, with 12 points, to break through against a Montreal attack led by Lane Hutson’s 13 points—and the Canadiens’ Jacob Fowler, whose save percentage is .932 across 11 games.