Canadiens @ Maple Leafs: Pre-season Game 5 preview, start time, and how to watch

Pre-season Game 5: Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2, RDS
In the Maple Leafs region: TSN4
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live, RDS Direct, TSN Direct

Training camp is beginning to wind down for the Montreal Canadiens. They’ve played four games so far, with just two pre-season contests to go. They’ve split those games, winning their two at the Bell Centre but losing quite handily on the road, and tonight is their last chance to get a win in their white jerseys before the regular season begins.

With the season near, the roster is getting closer to what the team will run with, at least to start. Some inuries are giving other players some looks, including Alex Belzile on a line with Artturi Lehkonen and Mathieu Perreault in the absence of both Paul Byron and Mike Hoffman. Kaiden Guhle is also still in the conversation with Joel Edmundson out, and though his season will probably be played in the WHL, he could stick around for a few NHL matches to start. He was paired with David Savard in practice yesterday, and that could be a duo we see in tonight’s game.

View from the Other Side

Toronto Maple Leafs blog Pension Plan Puppets

It’s now about developing chemistry with the various units. Nick Suzuki’s line can carry plenty of that over from the end of last season, and we also saw how quickly it developed between Jonathan Drouin, Christian Dvorak, and Josh Anderson. The shutdown line of Joel Armia, Jake Evans, and Brendan Gallagher should also have a fairly easy time getting on the same page.

These last two games are most important for the defensive pairings, which put in their best outing versus Ottawa on Saturday. They are all newly created ones, and hopefully it’s just a matter of learning a partner’s tendencies. The biggest injury the team is dealing with is Shea Weber’s, so some disjointed play from the blue line is to be expected.

Many of the moves that were made in the off-season were targetted at improving the offence, but the top power-play unit that was run in practice yesterday was comprised of elements that had already been with the team. The Suzuki line was joined by Gallagher and Jeff Petry yesterday, and that fivesome will be working on perfecting its plan of action to be in top form. Of course, having camp revelation Chris Wideman quarterbacking another unit featuring newcomers Hoffman and Dvorak, and Drouin to boot, won’t be a bad thing either, and should offset some growing pains for the defence. We’re sure to see those two warring aspects of the team versus the high-powered Maple Leafs tonight.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup