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

Montreal Canadiens vs. Vegas Golden Knights

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

Vegas Golden Knights projected lineup