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

Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils

How to watch

Start time: 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST
In Canada: Sportsnet, Sportsnet Now (English)
In the Canadiens region: RDS, RDS Direct (French)
In the US: NHL Network
In the Devils region: MSG+
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live

The Canadiens haven’t won a game since November 15. They fell in the second half of a back-to-back the next night, and have experienced the same fate in the four games since.

That first loss was to the New Jersey Devils, in a game the Canadiens had been leading by a 3-1 score. Over the course of the skid, there have been a few leads for the Habs, but each has been squandered, with a 4-0 edge on the New York Rangers before falling 6-5 being the largest.

Montreal’s task is twofold tonight. They need to find ways to score goals, and the top two lines will be expected to produce to help that happen, but some secondary scoring from lower in the lineup would surely be a help as well. Holding the other team to fewer goals than Montreal can muster has been the main issue, with the defence and goaltenders both sharing blame on that account. Good posiitioning around the net will be important for the blue-liners, while Carey Price will be expected to bounce back after posting a .545 save percentage against the Bruins.

The best plan is to just keep the puck out of their own end altogether, and that’s something the team playing at its best can come close to achieving. We’ll see if we get the good version of the Habs tonight, or if the team we’ve seen over the past two weeks is sticking around for another game.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Injured: Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin
Scratched: Brett Kulak

New Jersey Devils projected lineup