Stay away from the Bell Centre

The Montreal Canadiens are on an absolute tear.

The Habs gave the Kings a small dose of their own medicine Thursday night, holding Los Angeles to only 23 shots in the 4-1 victory.

Montreal is now 12-1-1 on the season, and a perfect 9-0-0 at home, the second time in franchise history they've started their home schedule with such a record.

What holdout?

Nikita Kucherov is proving he is worth every penny.

After spending the majority of his offseason working out a new contract, the Tampa Bay Lightning forward has certainly walked the walk since his payday.

With a patented half-wall snipe versus the New York Islanders - his fifth tally of the season - Kucherov brought his point total to 16 points in 12 games, only three off the league-lead.

Mo-Town MVP

Without Jimmy Howard, the Detroit Red Wings would be facing some serious problems.

A disastrous possession team, Detroit ranks 26th in the NHL in allowing 32.4 shots per game. Enter Howard, who has been simply sublime.

The 32-year-old stopped 36-of-37 Vancouver Canucks shots on Thursday, and boasts a 1.26 goals against average along with a .958 save percentage in six appearances this season.

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