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

Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Now (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Devils region: MSG+
Streaming: NHL.tv/ NHL Live

The Montreal Canadiens are back home after a fairly convincing 5-2 win over the NHL’s top team on Friday night. They used a great second period performance to pile up four goals on the Washington Capitals, and simply needed to hold the fort in the third period to extend their winning streak to three.

Tonight’s opponent is not the NHL top team. In fact, it’s one of the worst in the league. The New Jersey Devils have only put six wins together on the season; something the Canadiens have managed in their past eight games.

Both teams played last night, and come in with varying degrees of fatigue. The Devils were outshot 39-21 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, relying on a big effort from MacKenzie Blackwood to earn them a 2-1 win. The Canadiens weren’t forced to play a whole lot of defence, thanks both to playing largely in Washington’s end and preventing entries at their own blue line, though it was a bit of a physical battle, and some of those knocks still linger 24 hours later.

Jonathan Drouin and Paul Byron will miss tonight’s action with injuries sustained last night. Fortunately, those injuries do come just as Jesperi Kotkaniemi gets the green light to return from his groin injury, and he will be in the lineup for the first time since October 30. The other forward spot will be filled by Charles Hudon, who was recalled today after a great sequence with the Laval Rocket.

Keith Kinkaid gets the call for his first home start, and a Saturday-night outing to boot. It’s a chance to show the Devils he’s still capable of being a quality backup, and that’s a message Claude Julien would very much like to receive in the second half of a back-to-back as well.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Injured: Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin
Scratched: Christian Folin, Mikey Reilly

New Jersey Devils projected lineup