Habs' forward Danny Briere will be a healthy scratch for the first time in his long career as Carey Price attempts to best the Blues' Jaroslav Halak in a game that starts at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Scottrade Center.
Briere, 36, has five goals and five assists since joining the club as a free agent for $8 million per season after being bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers. Briere played on the fourth line and had under five minutes of ice time in the Habs’ 3-1 win over Phoenix Tuesday night.
He will be replaced in the lineup by rugged Ryan White, who has one goal and no assists in 26 games this season.
Halak has beaten his former mate three consecutive times since being traded to St. Louis in return for Lars Eller in a trade that was hotly debated for years.
Halak has a 0.97 goals against average and a .960 save percentage in his three wins against Montreal.
Halak's numbers this years are not as spectacular as in past years, however, as he has a .908 save percentage and a 2.35 goals against average. Price, in comparison, has a .936 save percentage and a 1.96 goals against average.
The Habs, currently tied as the league’s ninth best team, have gone 6-1-1 in their last road games and will be trying to win their second straight.
The Blues, meanwhile, have lost two straight but still maintain an impressive 13-3-2 home record.
The Blues will be playing without their top centreman David Backes, who is second on the team with 30 points in 32 games, trailing only Alexander Steen, who leads with 36 points in 33 games and signed a three-year, $17.4-million US contract extension Wednesday.
Jaden Scwhartz, who is returning to the lineup after missing two games with an undisclosed injury, will take Backes’ spot on the top line with Steen and T.J. Oshie.
The Habs (21-12-3) scored two power play markers Tuesday and now have the league’s sixth best power play, scoring on 22.4 percent of their opportunities, while the Blues (22-7-4) are fifth-best on the man advantage with a 23.1 percent pace.
The Habs have a better goals against average, allowing a third-best 2.03 goals per game, while the Blues are in 11th spot with a team goals against average of 2.39.
Montreal has the second-best penalty kill in the league, killing off 87.2 percent of all penalties trailing only the Vancouver Canucks. The Blues are the ninth-best with a rate of 85.0 percent.
Max Pacioretty scored twice in the Habs' 3-1 win over Phoenix Tuesday, including an empty netter, to take over the Habs’ lead in points with 39 in 44 games, as P.K. Subban sits in second spot one point behind.
While the main player-versus-player comparison might involve Price versus Halak, the Blues also have some top flight defencemen in the form of Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester who some believe should be taken onto the Canadian Olympic team over P.K. Subban, in spite of Subban winning the Norris trophy last season.
