Canadiens vs. Blues: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

Montreal Canadiens vs. St. Louis Blues

How to watch

Puck drop: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: Sportsnet One, RDS, Sportsnet Now
In the Blues region: Fox Sports Midwest
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/Rogers NHL Live

With a 7-3 victory on Monday night, the Canadiens have quickly put a shutout loss to the Los Angeles Kings — the only game of the five they’ve played that hasn’t ended with at least a point — behind them. After starting off with three points through the first three games, they now have seven after five, and have enjoyed back-to-back wins.

To extend the win streak to three, they’ll have to get past thougher competition than the Detroit Red Wings mustered two nights ago, though the Blues are still one of the worst defensive teams in the league this season. Only the Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Philadelphia Flyers are allowing more goals per game to this point, and they only rank 19th in goals for to compensate.

As a result, the Blues have just one win on the year and sit last in the Central Division. Fortunately for them, their rivals haven’t been living up to expectations either, and they sit just four points back of second place in the group.

After a convincing win, the only change to the Habs’ lineup will be on defence, as Karl Alzner steps in for an ill Victor Mete alongside Jeff Petry. Carey Price reclaims his position between the pipes after recovering from the illness that kept him out of action for two games. It will be another outing for the line of Phillip Danault, Tomas Tatar, and Brendan Gallagher, which is becoming one of the most effective trios in the NHL.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

St. Louis Blues projected lineup