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

Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Flames region: Sportsnet West
Streaming: ESPN+, NHL Live, RDS Direct, Sportsnet Now, TSN Direct

The Canadiens have had encouraging moments in nearly all of the their games since returning home from California. There was the win versus Detroit, an exceptional first period versus the Vegas Golden Knights, then a mostly good contest versus the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday after a bad showing versus the same team just over a week earlier. The results aren’t quite there — three points out of eight — but at least there are signs of life from a team still dealing with some key injuries.

The bad news is tonight’s opponent is the toughest one they had to face in this five-game home set. The Flames are near the top of the league in many categories, and looking like one of the Stanley Cup contenders this season.

Ignoring everything else they’re doing well, it’s Calgary’s offence that could be the toughest aspect to overcome for the Canadiens, who average about 1.5 goals less per game. They have trouble outscoring any opponent, let alone one backstopped by one of the top goalies in the league right now. If Montreal is going to solve Jacob Markstrom, they need to make a commitment to the cross-ice playmaking that featured quite prominently on their power plays last games.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Calgary Flames projected lineup