How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Golden Knights region: ATTSN-RM
Streaming: ESPN+, NHL Live, Sportsnet Now
The Canadiens had yet another maddening performance on Thursday night, playing nowhere near the level you’d expect of a group of NHL professionals. The New York Islanders deserve credit for coming up with an effective, aggresive strategy, but the Canadiens are the most to blame for failing to make any adjustments to deal with it as they fell behind 5-0 before clawing a couple of goals back late in the third period.
Several players on the team will remember the positive feelings felt the last time they played tonight’s opponent. The Habs won their series with the Golden Knights in six games in the 2021 playoffs, and should have ideas for effective strategies of their own based on that performance.
Expectations should be tempered a bit further than they probably are already, however, because Montreal’s top two point-producers, Nick Suzuki and Jonathan Drouin, are game-time decisions, as is Brendan Gallagher who is obviously trying to play through a significant injury. Even if those players are able to play, they will be far from 100%, so the Habs will desperately need some other players to step up to keep them in the match.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
Tyler Toffoli |
Nick Suzuki |
Brendan Gallagher |
Mike Hoffman |
Jake Evans |
Josh Anderson |
Artturi Lehkonen |
Christian Dvorak |
Joel Armia |
Michael Pezzetta |
Cédric Paquette |
Alex Belzile |
Defencemen
Left Defence |
Right Defence |
Left Defence |
Right Defence |
Ben Chiarot |
Jeff Petry |
Brett Kulak |
David Savard |
Alexander Romanov |
Chris Wideman |
Goaltenders
Starter |
Backup |
Starter |
Backup |
Jake Allen |
Samuel Montembeault |
Vegas Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
Jonathan Marchessault |
Nicolas Roy |
Reilly Smith |
William Carrier |
Chandler Stephenson |
Evgenii Dadonov |
Keegan Kolesar |
Michael Amadio |
Mattias Janmark |
Brett Howden |
Jake Leschyshyn |
Jonas Rongbjerg |
Defencemen
Left Defence |
Right Defence |
Left Defence |
Right Defence |
Nicolas Hague |
Alex Pietrangelo |
Alec Martinez |
Shea Theodore |
Brayden McNabb |
Dylan Coghlan |
Goaltenders
Starter |
Backup |
Starter |
Backup |
Robin Lehner |
Laurent Brossoit |
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