Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Busy in Tuesday's shootout loss
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Primeau turned aside 36 shots in regulation and overtime and two of three shootout attempts in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Red Wings.
The 24-year-old netminder nearly stole a win for the Canadiens in their regular-season finale, but David Perron found a tying goal for the visitors with just five seconds left in the third period, and Patrick Kane was the only successful skater for either team in the shootout. Primeau gave up four goals or more in each of his last four starts this season while going 0-2-2, and he finishes the season with an 8-9-4 record over 23 outings with a 2.99 GAA and .910 save percentage. While he won't be the favorite, Primeau should head into camp next season competing with Sam Montembeault for Montreal's starting job.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Guarding goal Tuesday
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Primeau will patrol the home crease Tuesday against Detroit, according to Eric Engels of Sportsnet.
Primeau made 27 saves in a 3-2 overtime win over the Red Wings on Nov. 9. He has posted a record of 8-9-3 this season with a 2.95 GAA and a .910 save percentage through 22 games played. Detroit sits ninth in the league this campaign with 3.35 goals per contest.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Pelted with pucks in shootout loss
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Primeau made 40 saves in a 5-4 shootout loss to Ottawa on Saturday.
Primeau stopped a load of rubber but was hard on himself in the postgame media scrum. "They got all four [with us] a man down," Primeau said. "Your goalie's got to be your best penalty-killer, so I don't feel good." He hasn't won in April (0-2-1 in three starts) while allowing 14 goals in those three games, but Primeau has a .910 save percentage in 20 starts this season despite an 8-9-3 record. We expect him to be in the league full-time next season, and the 24-year-old goalie may deliver spot start value, or even more if the Canadiens ice a more competitive group of skaters in front of him.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Slated starter for Saturday
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Primeau is expected to start on the road against Ottawa on Saturday.
Primeau stopped 41 of 45 shots en route to a 5-2 loss to the Rangers on Sunday. He's 8-9-2 with a 2.91 GAA and a .910 save percentage across 21 contests this season. The Senators, who have scored just 1.88 goals per game over their past eight outings, figure to be a favorable matchup for Primeau.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Struggles again Sunday
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Primeau allowed four goals on 45 shots in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Rangers. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.
Primeau was perfect with 18 saves in a relief appearance versus the Maple Leafs on Saturday, but his luck didn't carry over to Sunday's contest. The 24-year-old kept the Rangers off the board for over half the game, but they broke through with a pair of power-play goals and took over in the third period. Primeau is down to 8-9-2 with a 2.91 GAA and a .910 save percentage through 21 appearances. The Canadiens' next game is at home Tuesday versus the struggling Flyers.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: In net vs. Rangers
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Primeau will guard the road crease Sunday against the Rangers.
Primeau struggled in his last start, allowing six goals in a loss to the Lightning, though he was solid in relief Saturday against Toronto, turning aside all 18 shots faced. Overall, Primeau is 8-8-2 with a .910 save percentage and 2.85 GAA this season. He'll have a tough task against a Rangers team that's averaging 3.43 goals per game.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Struck by Lightning six times
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Primeau made 29 saves in a 7-4 loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday. He allowed six goals.
It was a game of men versus boys, and Primeau didn't really stand a chance against Tampa's top players. His last five games have been a tale of two netminders. He's 3-2-0 over that stretch, and in the three wins, Primeau has surrendered just two goals. In the two losses? Eleven goals against. Primeau is a tough fantasy activation in any matchup right now. The jury remains out on his future.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Slated starter for Thursday
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Primeau is expected to start at home against Tampa Bay on Thursday, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.
Primeau has an 8-7-2 record, 2.75 GAA and .913 save percentage in 18 appearances in 2023-24. He's won his last two starts while saving 65 of 67 shots (.970 save percentage). Although Primeau has been effective recently, the Lightning, who rank fifth offensively with 3.46 goals per game, figure to be a difficult opponent.
Primeau made 29 saves in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Flyers.
The 24-year-old netminder nearly recorded his third shutout of the season, but Owen Tippett snuck a puck past Primeau through traffic with 1:01 left on the clock in the third period. He's emerged as a reliable backup to Sam Montembeault since Jake Allen got traded. Over five starts in March, Primeau has gone 3-1-1 with a 1.97 GAA and .939 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Tending twine Thursday
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Primeau will guard the home cage versus the Flyers on Thursday.
Primeau has made just 17 appearances this season, in part due to the club's decision to carry three netminders for most of the year. With Jake Allen now in New Jersey, the 24-year-old Primeau has seen an increase in starts, though he remains the No. 2 option behind Sam Montembeault.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Tending twine Sunday
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Primeau will guard the road goal Sunday versus Seattle.
Primeau is coming off a 23-save effort in a 5-2 loss to Calgary on March 16. He has posted a 6-7-2 record this season with a 2.97 GAA and a .905 save percentage over 16 appearances. The Kraken sit 29th in the league with 2.62 goals per contest this campaign.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Starting in Calgary
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Primeau will guard the road net Saturday against the Flames.
Primeau was spectacular in his last start, stopping 41 shots in a shutout win over Columbus on Tuesday. The 24-year-old netminder is 6-6-2 with a .910 save percentage and 2.83 GAA this season. He'll face a Calgary team that's lost three of four contests going into Saturday's matchup.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Delivers second career shutout
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Primeau turned aside all 41 shots he faced in Tuesday's 3-0 win over the Blue Jackets.
The Canadiens did all their scoring in the first six minutes of the game, and Primeau took care of the rest. The 24-year-old netminder kicked out 22 shots in the first period alone en route to his second shutout of his career, both of which have come in his last four starts. He remains firmly behind Sam Montembeault on the depth chart, but Primeau's making a case for more playing time by posting a .945 save percentage since the All-Star break.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Facing Lightning
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Primeau will patrol the road crease in Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Primeau starts approximately once every four games as he is sharing the net with Sam Montembeault and Jake Allen. Primeau is 5-6-1 with a 3.06 GAA and a .901 save percentage this season. He will face the Lightning, who are currently holding down the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Falls to Penguins
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Primeau allowed three goals on 26 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Penguins.
Primeau allowed a Kris Letang goal in the first period and two more tallies in the second as the 24-year-old netminder took the loss in just his second start since Jan. 20. Primeau falls to 5-6-1 with a .901 save percentage and 3.06 GAA while splitting work with Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault this season. Montreal will look to get back in the win column Saturday on the road against New Jersey.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Starting against Penguins
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Primeau will be in the visiting crease versus Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Primeau picked up his first career shutout in his last game, stopping 13 shots in a 5-0 win over Anaheim on Feb. 14. The netminder is currently sharing the net with Sam Montembeault and Jake Allen and is not seeing a lot of action as a result. Primeau is 5-5-1 with a 3.07 GAA and a .903 save percentage in 2023-24. The Penguins are averaging only 2.89 goals, 24th in the league.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Records first NHL shutout
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Primeau stopped 13 shots in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Ducks.
He wasn't exactly busy, as Anaheim didn't manage more than six shots in any period, but Primeau still handled everything fired his way to collect his first career shutout. It was also his first win since Dec. 22, as the 24-year-old continues to see sporadic action behind Sam Montembeault and Jake Allen. Should Allen get shipped out by the trade deadline, Primeau would see more consistent action, but his 3.07 GAA and .903 save percentage on the season don't promise big fantasy returns.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: In goal against Anaheim
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Primeau will defend the home goal against the Ducks on Tuesday.
Primeau wasn't great in his last start Jan. 18 versus the Senators, surrendering five goals on 36 shots en route to a 6-2 defeat. He'll try to secure his fifth win of the season in a favorable home matchup with an Anaheim team that's averaging just 2.75 goals per game on the road this year, 26th in the NHL.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Tending twine Thursday
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Primeau will get the visiting start versus Ottawa on Thursday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Primeau will garner his second start in the last 10 games as the Canadiens are going with three goaltenders -- Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen are the others -- at this time. Primeau was sharp versus the Flyers on Jan. 10, stopping 37 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss. Primeau is 4-4-1 with a 3.13 GAA and a .905 save percentage in 2023-24. The Senators are averaging 33.1 shots on goal per game, eighth in the league.
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Canadiens' Cayden Primeau: Busy in shootout loss
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Primeau stopped 37 shots in regulation and overtime and two of three shootout attempts in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Flyers.
Montreal grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period but Philly tied it up midway through the second, setting the stage for an unlikely goaltending duel down the stretch between Primeau and Samuel Ersson. Primeau has been deployed infrequently behind Sam Montembeault and Jake Allen -- the 24-year-old Primeau has allowed exactly two goals in three of his four starts since the beginning of December, posting a 2.40 GAA and .928 save percentage over that stretch while going 2-1-1.
