How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Predators region: Bally Sports South
Streaming: ESPN+, NHL Live, Sportsnet Now
In a season full of low points, it’s difficult to set a new standard for poor play, but the Canadiens may have achieved that in a 6-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. There was only a handful of players on the ice who looked prepared to play a hockey game, and most of them were the most inexperienced members of the squad.
Dominique Ducharme decided that was enough of that, so tonight he’s removing one of those young players from the lineup. Michael Pezzetta exits the formation for the first time since his recall, and by the reports from earlier today, if the coach can’t have quality on defence, he’s going to go for quantity, inserting Chris Wideman back in for what could be an 11-forward, seven-defenceman setup.
The task for that group is to match up with a strong defensive team that also features a top-end group of offensive stars. If they’re not up to that challenge, it will be a fifth consecutive loss, and, for all intents and purposes, a very early start to preparations for next season.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
Tyler Toffoli |
Nick Suzuki |
Cole Caufield |
Jonathan Drouin |
Christian Dvorak |
Josh Anderson |
Joel Armia |
Jake Evans |
Brendan Gallagher |
|
Ryan Poehling |
Artturi Lehkonen |
Defencemen
Left Defence |
Right Defence |
Left Defence |
Right Defence |
Ben Chiarot |
Jeff Petry |
Mattias Norlinder |
David Savard |
Alexander Romanov |
Brett Kulak |
|
Chris Wideman |
Goaltenders
Starter |
Backup |
Starter |
Backup |
Samuel Montembeault |
Cayden Primeau |
Nashville Predators projected lineup
Forwards
Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
Luke Kunin |
Mikael Granlund |
Matt Duchene |
Tanner Jeannot |
Ryan Johansen |
Philip Tomasino |
Yakov Trenin |
Colton Sissons |
Mathieu Olivier |
Nick Cousins |
Thomas Novak |
Eeli Tolvanen |
Defencemen
Left Defence |
Right Defence |
Left Defence |
Right Defence |
Roman Josi |
Dante Fabbro |
Mattias Ekholm |
Alexandre Carrier |
Mark Borowiecki |
Matt Benning |
Goaltenders
Starter |
Backup |
Starter |
Backup |
Juuse Saros |
David Rittich |
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