Canadiens vs. Penguins Qualifier Game 3: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

Stanley Cup Qualifiers: Game 3

Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

How to watch

Start time: 8:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM PDT
In Canada: Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the US: NBCSN
In the Penguins region: ATTSN Pittsburgh
Streaming: Sportsnet Now

Montreal did well after settling into Game 1 of their series with Pittsburgh, but had trouble digesting the steady diet of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on Monday. The two superstars earned major minutes in the opening period as the Penguins tried — and succeeded — to get an early advantage. It’s a testament to Phillip Danault’s skill as a shutdown centreman that head coach Mike Sullivan was forced to use his top two players so often in an attempt to break that matchup versus Montreal’s top line.

Claude Julien will be the one with the final say tonight, and that means not only can he ensure Crosby doesn’t get any starts versus Montreal’s bottom units, he can work to get favourable matches for his side as well. Expect him to target the Penguins’ third pairing and bottom-six forwards whenever possible for the greatest chance at some offence.

Danault’s right-winger, Brendan Gallagher was reportedly not at practice today, and his loss would be a huge blow to the Canadiens’ chances of winning the game. He did take a shot off the heel in Game 2, so it’s entirely possible that he was just given a rest to limit the amount of time he needs to have his bruised foot in a skate, but we’ll have that answer, and another other potential lineup changes, ahead of puck drop tonight.

If he can’t go, it will be up to Carey Price even more than usual to keep his team in the game. His save percentage is at .957 through two games, and he may need to approach that number this evening if Montreal is going to pull off another upset.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Scratches: Jake Evans, Cale Fleury, Christian Folin, Charles Hudon, Noah Juulsen, Michael McNiven, Gustav Olofsson, Ryan Poehling, Cayden Primeau
Injured: Alex Belzile

Pittsburgh Penguins projected lineup