Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports
Game 45: Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet E/O/P (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the United States: NHL Network
Streaming: CBC Gem, Sportsnet+
After visiting Montreal a couple of times in the past three weeks, the Canadiens will now play three games in a row at the Bell Centre. The schedule-maker doesn’t want them to get too comfortable there however, because those three games will be played in a span of four days before once again heading on the road for a match in Detroit.
The first game is part of Hockey Day in Canada’s slate featuring the Canadian clubs, and the Habs are the hottest of all them with just one regulation loss in the past 10 matches. They play a Maple Leafs team having some issues scoring goals, and, as a direct result, losing more than they win recently.
Samuel Montembeault will be trying to extend their woes, but goaltending hasn’t been the reason for the Habs’ recent run. It’s all about defence and depth scoring, and that’s going to be the same story of today’s game.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #13 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #35 Alex Newhook | #77 Kirby Dach | #92 Patrik Laine |
| #55 Michael Pezzetta | #71 Jake Evans | #40 Joel Armia |
| #17 Josh Anderson | #28 Christian Dvorak | #11 Brendan Gallagher |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #48 Lane Hutson | #8 Mike Matheson |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle | #45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj | #58 David Savard |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #35 Samuel Montembeault | #75 Jakub Dobeṧ |
Scratched: Jayden Struble
Injured: Emil Heineman
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew Knies | Auston Matthews | Mitch Marner |
| Bobby McMann | Max Domi | William Nylander |
| Max Pacioretty | Pontus Holmberg | Nick Robertson |
| Steven Lorentz | David Kampf | Ryan Reaves |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Morgan Rielly | Philippe Myers |
| Jake McCabe | Chris Tanev |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | Conor Timmins |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Joseph Woll | Dennis Hildeby |
