SEA@MTL: What you need to know

MONTREAL – Boo! Did we scare you? In any case, it's Halloween Night presented by Haribo at the Bell Centre on Tuesday when the Canadiens take on the Seattle Kraken in search of their third consecutive win.

Here’s what you need to know heading into the game:

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE BELL CENTRE

Spooky season is arriving early at the Bell Centre. Before the action unfolds on the ice, join us at Canadiens Plaza as of 5:00 p.m., where you can find an interactive haunted house, trick or treating and more. Inside, costumed fans can head to section 113 to use our photo booth (open until the first intermission) and run the chance to win $500 to Tricolore Sports! For more Hallo-details, click here.

TEAM COMPARISONS

The Kraken (4-1-1) enter Tuesday’s matchup sharing an identical record with the Canadiens but are currently mired in a three-game drought—all of which happened on home ice. Seattle, who open a five-game road trip on Tuesday, have stalled offensively of late, scoring just six goals in their last three outings. Overall, the team floats in the middle of the pack in terms of their goals for, goals against and penalty kill numbers league-wide. However, the Kraken power play has lagged, clicking at just 15.4%, placing them 24^th in the NHL this season.

General manager, Ron Francis, acquired Stanley Cup Champion, Brandon Montour, and former Vegas Golden Knight, Chandler Stephenson, this offseason for a Seattle team looking to improve on a sixth-place finish in the Pacific Division in 2023-24.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens are back on track. Fresh off a weekend sweep of the St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal is eyeing its first three-game winning streak since March of last season, which so happened to have begun in Seattle. Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield continue to pace the Habs attack and have looked extra dangerous of late with Kirby Dach on their right wing. While the top line’s done their thing, Martin St-Louis’ squad has benefited from secondary scoring recently with the likes of Jake Evans, Joel Armia and Brendan Gallagher contributing multi-point performances over the weekend. Back at .500 on the season, the Canadiens will look for continued success tonight in front of their home fans at the Bell Centre.

PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR

Cole Caufield. Need we say more? Everything the Habs sniper has touched has turned to gold this season. The 23-year-old scored his eighth of the campaign in Sunday’s win over the Flyers. A goal tonight would set him on a three-game goal streak for the second time this year and eighth time in his career. Caufield has taken it further in half those streaks, scoring in four consecutive games four times in the NHL.

Nick Suzuki has recorded points in seven straight appearances. Montreal’s leading scorer is just three points shy of 300 in his career.

Jared McCann has been lights out for the Kraken with five goals and seven assists through the team’s first nine games. The Stratford, ON, native, who posted a career-high 70 points in 2022-23, enters play on Tuesday with a six-game point streak dating back to Oct. 15.

BY THE NUMBERS: KRAKEN-HABS

Here’s how the Kraken and Canadiens match up by the numbers:

LINEUP NEWS

As for the Canadiens lineup, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Martin St-Louis seems to hold to that thought, especially following a win. Considering that and the Habs' limited flexibility given the team’s health status, expect the same group that faced the Blues and Flyers to play tonight against the Kraken, with Samuel Montembeault likely starting between the pipes.

Subscribe to or follow the team on YouTube, Facebook and X (@CanadiensMTL) to catch St-Louis' pregame press conference around 11:00 a.m. ET, and keep on eye on the Canadiens social accounts for any potential lineup news. For the full official lineup, check back on the team’s social accounts closer to puck drop.