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

Montreal Canadiens @ Calgary Flames

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: Sportsnet East/West/Pacific, CityTV (English), TVA Sports (French)
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live, Sportsnet Now

After his personnel decisions were questioned by running with the same forward lineup for the third game in four nights, it appears as though Dominique Ducharme will place Artturi Lehkonen back in the lineup tonight. The odd-man out will be Jake Evans, meaning Paul Byron will likely be playing a centre role versus his former team this evening.

Lehkonen will surely help the Canadiens up their tempo, but he shouldn’t be expected to be a major offensive contributor for the team. Instead the club will need to turn to other sources to figure our Jacob Markstrom, who has allowed but a single goal in his two games against Montreal this year. He way much less busy on Thursday than he was in a 37-save shutout performance back on January 30, and that’s something Lehkonen and his teammates will need to change.

Now that they’ve gotten a taste of the defensive system Calgary is trying to play under new coach Darryl Sutter, Montreal’s staff can plan around it. Thursday’s game was a major departure from the complete lack of resistance the Canucks had offered the previous night, when Montreal peppered Thatcher Demko with 45 shots. Aiming for somewhere between that lofty total and the measly 18 they had in the first meeting will be the top priority, and the offensive chances will develop from there.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Injured: Ben Chiarot (broken hand)
Scratched: Jake Evans

Calgary Flames projected lineup