Early look The full preview opens on Wednesday 20 January, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

Calgary Flames at Montréal Canadiens: game preview

Puck drop23 Jan · 7:00 PM ET
VenueCentre Bell
All-time meetings117 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Twenty-nine points apart last season

Calgary finished last season 29th in the league on 77 points. Montréal finished 6th on 106.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 118

Across 117 completed games, Montréal lead the head-to-head 61-47-9.

All-time record61-47-9Montréal's record in the series
Meetings played117This is number 118
2025-26 series—
Last 53-2Calgary
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
7 Jan 2026CGY 1 – MTL 4——MTL
22 Oct 2025MTL 2 – CGY 1 OT——MTL
8 Mar 2025MTL 0 – CGY 1——CGY
5 Nov 2024CGY 3 – MTL 2 OT——CGY
16 Mar 2024MTL 2 – CGY 5——CGY
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateCalgaryMontréal
22 Oct 20251-6-1 · 3 pts31st6-2-0 · 12 pts4th
7 Jan 202618-21-4 · 40 pts30th24-13-6 · 54 pts6th

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 22 Oct 2025, Calgary were 31st in the league and Montréal 4th. By 7 Jan 2026 it was 30th and 6th.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Calgary out-attempted Montréal 135 to 112

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

Calgary Flames

135 att · 66 on goal · 2 G · 3.0%
Crease8 att · 0 G
Slot39 att · 1 G
Wing58 att · 1 G
Point22 att · 0 G
Neutral zone8 att · 0 G

Montréal Canadiens

112 att · 64 on goal · 6 G · 9.4%
Crease7 att · 1 G
Slot51 att · 4 G
Wing40 att · 1 G
Point8 att · 0 G
Neutral zone6 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Montréal have created the better chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

CalgaryMontréal
2.54xG for per game2.61
3.38xG against per game3.61
42.9%xG share42.0%
−4.6FinishingGoals minus expected goals+4.2
−5.9GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed−3.2

This season: 3 games for Calgary, 3 for Montréal. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

Calgary

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2740.0%
Power play · 2025-2616.2% · 31st
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2790.0%
Penalty kill · 2025-2680.4% · 12th
Faceoffs · 2026-2750.3% · 90/179
Drawn · 2026-275 (1.67/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2710 (3.33/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Montréal

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2710.0%
Power play · 2025-2623.1% · 10th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2775.0%
Penalty kill · 2025-2678.2% · 18th
Faceoffs · 2026-2753.9% · 96/178
Drawn · 2026-2710 (3.33/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2712 (4.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
86Joel Farabee30220.67
22Ryan Strome31010.33
16Morgan Frost31010.33
14Nick Suzuki32462.00
22Chris Kreider31341.33
76Zachary Bolduc33031.00
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
19Zayne Parekh30110.33
44Joel Hanley10000.00
55Jake Middleton30000.00
48Lane Hutson30441.33
8Mike Matheson30110.33
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 21 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 21 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Calgary crease

CGY · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 20 Jan

Dustin Wolf.7972 GP · 0-2-0 · GSAx −5.5
Devin Cooley.8801 GP · 0-1-0 · GSAx −0.1

No appearances against Montréal in the last meetings.

Montréal crease

MTL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 20 Jan

Jakub Dobes.8573 GP · 1-1-1 · GSAx −3.0

No appearances against Calgary in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.4 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

7 Jan 20265 · CGY 1–4 MTL
22 Oct 20253 · MTL 2–1 CGY
8 Mar 20251 · MTL 0–1 CGY
5 Nov 20245 · CGY 3–2 MTL
16 Mar 20247 · MTL 2–5 CGY

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Calgary1.005.332.593.16
Montréal4.004.673.453.12

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest6.4Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings4.2Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

6 on the injury lists

Calgary · injuries

Jonathan HuberdeauHipIRReturn10 Oct

Montréal · injuries

Bryce PickfordUndisclosedIRReturn17 Oct
Ivan DemidovLower BodyIRReturn31 Oct
Kaiden GuhleGroinIRReturn20 Oct
Lucas CondottaUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Oliver KapanenLower BodyOutReturn8 Oct
5 Oct · CGY

Placed D Brayden Pachal and C Connor Zary on waivers.

26 Sep · CGY

Waived F Alex Nylander.

25 Sep · CGY

Assigned Fs Andrew Basha, Will Dineen and Tyson Gross, Ds Hunter Brzustewicz and Axel Hurtig and G Arsenii Sergeev to Calgary (AHL). Waived for the purpose of assignment to Calgary Fs Dryden Hunt, Ben Jones, Rory Kerins, Sam Morton and William Stromgren and Ds Michael Benning, Andreas Englund and Jake Livingstone.

27 Sep · MTL

Placed D Reilly Walsh, D Maksymilian Szuber, D Ethan Samson, C Sam Poulin, RW Sasha Pastujov, C Hunter McKown, G Kaapo Kähkönen, LW Brett Berard, and RW Alex Belzile on waivers for the purpose of loaning them to Laval (AHL).

12 Sep · MTL

Signed F Chris Kreider to a one-year contract.

9 Aug 2026 · MTL

Loaned F Vinzenz Rohrer to EV Zug (Switzerland).

Injury report
#6Carson CarelsRound 1 · Prince GeorgeD
#30Jack HextallRound 1 · YoungstownC
#36Chase HarringtonRound 2 · SpokaneLW
#42Tobias TrejbalRound 2 · YoungstownG
Full draft
#26Gleb PugachyovRound 1 · Nizhny Novgorod Jr.RW
#57Timofei RuntsoRound 2 · VictoriaD
#93Cooper CleavesRound 3 · DartmouthD
#117Brayden KlimpkeRound 4 · SaskatoonD
Full draft

Updated after every final