Montréal Canadiens at Minnesota Wild: game preview
MontréalCanadiens2026-27: 1-1-1 · 3 pts · 2025-26: 48-24-10 · 106 pts · 6that
MinnesotaWild2026-27: 2-0-1 · 5 pts · 2025-26: 46-24-12 · 104 pts · 7thTwo points apart last season
Montréal finished last season 6th in the league on 106 points. Minnesota finished 7th on 104.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 37
Across 36 completed games, Minnesota lead the head-to-head 26-8-2.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 20 Jan 2026, Montréal were 7th in the league and Minnesota 5th. By 2 Feb 2026 it was 9th and 5th.
Montréal out-attempted Minnesota 120 to 112
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Montréal Canadiens
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota 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.
This season: 3 games for Montréal, 3 for Minnesota. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Montréal, 10 for Minnesota.
2025-26: 82 games for Montréal, 82 for Minnesota.
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 sampleMinnesota
Small sampleSkaters to watch
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.
Who has stopped this matchup
Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Montréal crease
MTL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 16 Dec
No appearances against Minnesota in the last meetings.
Minnesota crease
MIN · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 16 Dec
No appearances against Montréal in the last meetings.
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
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Montréal4.004.673.453.12
Minnesota3.001.673.322.93Goals 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.
8 on the injury lists
Montréal · injuries
Minnesota · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →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).
Signed F Chris Kreider to a one-year contract.
Loaned F Vinzenz Rohrer to EV Zug (Switzerland).
Waived for the purpose of assignment to Iowa (AHL) Ds Matt Kiersted, Carson Lambos, and Roman Schmidt and Fs Caedan Bankier, Dylan Gambrell, Justin Kirkland, Tyler Pitlick, and Mason Shaw. Assigned Ds Ben Dexheimer and Viking Gustafsson Nyberg and Fs Jagger Joshua, Hunter Haight, Riley Heidt, Rasmus Kumpulainen, and Rieger Lorenz to Iowa.
Signed G Filip Ruzicka to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Signed D Filip Ruzicka to a three-year contract.
Montréal · 2026 draft
See all: Montréal · 2026 draft →Minnesota · 2026 draft
See all: Minnesota · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final