Canadiens @ Oilers: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

Montreal Canadiens @ Edmonton Oilers

How to watch

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

The Canadiens have gotten back on track now that the calendar has turned to December, putting behind a terrible month of November to once again vie for a division seed. They’ve already won the first two games on a four-game trip, and can make it a third tonight.

To do that, they’ll have to prevent Connor McDavid from having one of the offensive outbursts that have been common in his short career. Other than him and Leon Draisaitl, there aren’t many players to fear in the Edmonton lineup, so focus should be trained nearly exclusively on them.

That means McDavid is going to see a lot of Phillip Danault tonight, and plenty of Shea Weber and Ben Chiarot as he tries to get around the net. With those five players assigned that task, there will be lots of space for those lower in the Canadiens’ lineup, and considering how poor Edmonton’s defence has been in recent weeks, there’s a chance for some players to get plenty of opportunities around Mikko Koskinen in net.

One player to keep an eye on on the opposite side is Ethan Bear. He’s a crafty defenceman who handles the puck well in his own zone and has the ability to contribute on offence. The 22-year-old already has 11 points on the season, and is rapidly becoming one of the team’s top blue-liners.

It seems every time a game has come up on the schedule that the Canadiens should win, they’ve found a way to put in a disappointing effort and lose. If they can prevent that from happening, they could go into the final game of the road trip on Monday night looking at a sweep.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Injured: Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Victor Mete, Matthew Peca
Scratched: Christian Folin, Lukas Vejdemo

Edmonton Oilers projected lineup