Montreal Canadiens vs. Edmonton Oilers: 3 things to watch

Will the Montreal Canadiens' squeaky wheel get the grease in tonight's matchup with the Edmonton Oilers? There are major factors at play that will likely conspire to make for a very interesting and exciting game.

Here are the top three to watch:

1. Bouncing back

The Edmonton Oilers are looking to break a three-game losing skid at home against the Montreal Canadiens tonight.

The three-and-seven Oilers are another team that finished low last season — well out of the playoffs, yet they still took two meetings and four points from the bleu-blanc-rouge. Tonight we'll see whether the Oilers have saved their best for the Habs.

The Canadiens had a reality check with their first loss of the season on Tuesday in Vancouver, but their game had been slipping prior to that loss. They will be looking to bounce back tonight with better defensive play and discipline in the face of their first taste of adversity.

2. Pick of the litter

The Oilers have picked first in four out of the last six NHL entry drafts, making their lineup a veritable who's who of top hockey prospects.

That has yet to translate into consistent team success, but all three of the recent picks inflicted damage in the two games against the Habs last season: Two goals and an assist for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, one goal and one assist for Nail Yakupov and one goal for Taylor Hall.

And this year, the Habs have young Connor McDavid to deal with — an 18-year-old phenom who already has 10 points in his first 10 games and who is riding a six-game point streak into tonight's matchup. The kid can play.

3. Changes, are they a-comin'?

The Habs have opted for the backup goalie the last couple of times these teams played, but tonight Carey Price will get his first look at the Oilers since 2013. 

For the rest of the lineup, now that the winning streak is over, it's time to give forward Paul Byron some ice time and send Alex Semin to the press box in his place. Coach Michel Therrien says he would like to see more production from the line that had started the season so hot. It will be interesting to see what the speedy Byron does alongside Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller. Meanwhile, defencemen Jarred Tinordi and Greg Pateryn will have to wait to make their Habs debuts.