‹MON FEB 1›
3 games
Early look The full preview opens on Friday 29 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

Montréal Canadiens at Vancouver Canucks: game preview

Puck drop1 Feb · 8:30 PM ET
VenueRogers Arena
All-time meetings158 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Forty-eight points apart last season

Montréal finished last season 6th in the league on 106 points. Vancouver finished 32nd on 58.

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

Head-to-head

Meeting number 159

Across 158 completed games, Montréal lead the head-to-head 111-33-14.

All-time record111-33-14Montréal's record in the series
Meetings played158This is number 159
2025-26 series—
Last 54-1Montréal
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
12 Jan 2026VAN 3 – MTL 6——MTL
25 Oct 2025MTL 4 – VAN 3——MTL
11 Mar 2025MTL 4 – VAN 2——MTL
6 Jan 2025VAN 4 – MTL 5 OT——MTL
21 Mar 2024MTL 1 – VAN 4——VAN
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateMontréalVancouver
25 Oct 20257-3-0 · 14 pts3rd4-5-0 · 8 pts25th
12 Jan 202626-14-6 · 58 pts7th16-24-5 · 37 pts32nd

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 25 Oct 2025, Montréal were 3rd in the league and Vancouver 25th. By 12 Jan 2026 it was 7th and 32nd.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Vancouver out-attempted Montréal 128 to 127

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

Montréal Canadiens

127 att · 65 on goal · 10 G · 15.4%
Crease11 att · 0 G
Slot41 att · 3 G
Wing55 att · 7 G
Point16 att · 0 G
Neutral zone4 att · 0 G

Vancouver Canucks

128 att · 54 on goal · 6 G · 11.1%
Crease12 att · 0 G
Slot58 att · 6 G
Wing45 att · 0 G
Point10 att · 0 G
Neutral zone3 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.

MontréalVancouver
2.61xG for per game2.44
3.61xG against per game3.15
42.0%xG share43.6%
+4.2FinishingGoals minus expected goals+9.2
−3.2GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed−5.4

This season: 3 games for Montréal, 4 for Vancouver. 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

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

Vancouver

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2723.1%
Power play · 2025-2621.8% · 14th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2768.8%
Penalty kill · 2025-2671.5% · 32nd
Faceoffs · 2026-2749.3% · 112/227
Drawn · 2026-2713 (3.25/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2716 (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
14Nick Suzuki32462.00
22Chris Kreider31341.33
76Zachary Bolduc33031.00
47Paul Cotter44261.50
23Marco Rossi43141.00
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
48Lane Hutson30441.33
8Mike Matheson30110.33
17Filip Hronek40551.25
5Tom Willander40330.75
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 30 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 30 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Montréal crease

MTL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 29 Jan

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

No appearances against Vancouver in the last meetings.

Vancouver crease

VAN · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 29 Jan

Kevin Lankinen.8243 GP · 1-2-0 · GSAx −6.4
Leevi Meriläinen.9432 GP · 1-0-0 · GSAx +1.0

No appearances against Montréal in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 7.0 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

12 Jan 20269 · VAN 3–6 MTL
25 Oct 20257 · MTL 4–3 VAN
11 Mar 20256 · MTL 4–2 VAN
6 Jan 20259 · VAN 4–5 MTL
21 Mar 20245 · MTL 1–4 VAN

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Montréal4.004.673.453.12
Vancouver4.754.502.633.85

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 suggest7.0Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings7.2Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

10 on the injury lists

Montréal · injuries

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

Vancouver · injuries

Akil ThomasUndisclosedIRReturn11 Oct
Filip ChytilShoulderIRReturn8 Oct
Jack ThompsonUndisclosedIRReturn11 Oct
Mackenzie MacEachernUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Thatcher DemkoHipIRReturn21 Dec
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).

27 Sep · VAN

Placed G Nikita Tolopilo on waivers.

25 Sep · VAN

Claimed G Leevi Merilainen off waivers from Ottawa. Placed F Filip Chytil on injured reserve. Assigned F Braeden Cootes to Abbotsford (AHL).

24 Sep · VAN

Assigned Fs Ty Mueller, Riley Patterson, Ilya Safonov and Chase Wouters, Ds Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio to Abbotsford (AHL). Loaned F Ben Berard and D Isaac Belliveau to Abbotsford. Waived for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford F Trey Fix-Wolansky and Ds Cole Clayton and Jimmy Schuldt.

Injury report
#26Gleb PugachyovRound 1 · Nizhny Novgorod Jr.RW
#57Timofei RuntsoRound 2 · VictoriaD
#93Cooper CleavesRound 3 · DartmouthD
#117Brayden KlimpkeRound 4 · SaskatoonD
Full draft
#3Caleb MalhotraRound 1 · BrantfordC
#24Adam NovotnyRound 1 · PeterboroughLW
#33Brooks RogowskiRound 2 · OshawaC
#41Niklas Aaram-OlsenRound 2 · Orebro Jr.LW
Full draft

Updated after every final