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

Montreal Canadiens vs. Winnipeg Jets

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Jets region: TSN3
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live, RDS Direct, TSN Direct

Oddly enough for the Canadiens last night, in a game they were mostly on their heels the second period with the longest change was the one in which they controlled the pace. Breakouts were crisp, zone entries were a regular occurrence, and it looked like they were beginning to turn the tide on the Maple Leafs. But in the third period the strong play ebbed away, and they allowed too many goals to come back from.

Despite the result, Dominique Ducharme is holding onto that second-period performance as a sign his new formation can get things figured out, and is leaving everything intact. Jesperi Kotkaniemi gets his chance to build on a strong first game with Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar, while Corey Perry and Nick Suzuki will use their combination of patience and skill to create some chances. If Eric Staal’s line with Jonathan Drouin and Tyler Toffoli can pressure the Jets’ defence, there should be good opportunities to score more than two goals.

That’s not easy to do against Connor Hellebuyck, but Montreal has had decent success against the Jets’ starter this year, with at least three goals scored five of the six times they’ve faced him. As long as the defence can do a better job of protecting the slot and Jake Allen can turn in a good performance for a second night in a row, three goals could very well be enough to at least get the Habs a point, and test out their overtime strategies with players growing more confident in the plan at three-on-three.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Injured: Ben Chiarot (broken hand), Brendan Gallagher (broken thumb), Carey Price (lower-body)
COVID unavailable list: Joel Armia

Winnipeg Jets projected lineup