Montreal plays its last home game before the Olympic break looking for an upset win.

As we cross the midway point of the 2025-26 season, the Montreal Canadiens (26-15-7) are enjoying a resurgent campaign, currently sitting 3rd in the Atlantic Division with 59 points. They are looking to bounce back after a tough 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

The Montreal Canadiens will host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, January 29. This marks the second matchup between these two teams this season after Colorado claimed a 7-2 victory back in November.

Montreal has been one of the league’s highest-scoring teams this season, driven by captain Nick Suzuki and a group of up-and-coming players. After Suzuki, their point leaders are defenseman Lane Hutson (age 21) and forwards Cole Caufield (25), Ivan Demidov (20) and Juraj Slavkovsky (21).

Colorado fell 5-2 on the road in its last game on Jan. 28 against the Ottawa Senators. In its most recent game on Jan. 27, Montreal secured a 3-2 home victory against the Vegas Golden Knights. Ahead of this matchup, here's everything you need to get ready for Thursday's hockey action.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out.

Nick Suzuki scored a pair of special-team goals in the first period in a three-point outing to lead the host Montreal Canadiens to a 7-3 beatdown of the struggling Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.