Game 34: Montreal Canadiens vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Blackhawks region: CHSN
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Montreal’s performance versus the Chicago Blackhawks last season almost cost them in their charge for a playoff berth. The first meeting looked like the most winnable matchup during the year-end road trip that featured stops in Sunrise, Tampa, Las Vegas, and Denver, but ended up being the one loss the Habs had in that surprising stretch. In the penultimate game of the season, with Montreal needing a win to punch its ticket, the Blackhawks won in a shootout, forcing the Habs to claim two points in the 82nd game to complete the late-season charge.
The Canadiens have already taken more points from the season series this year, claiming to 3-2 win in the third game of 2025-26 thanks to power-play goals from Cole Caufield and Zachary Bolduc and then a last-minute winning goal from Kaiden Guhle. The Habs won’t get a goal from Guhle tonight, but it’s his defensive play that the team is missing most right now. It shouldn’t be a challenge for the Canadiens to outproduce a Blackhawks team missing Connor Bedard, but it will be if Montreal allows the type of chances it has in recent games.
Jakub Dobeš will be in net for tonight’s game, looking to build on an impressive start in which he had a .964 save percentage versus the Edmonton Oilers, instrumental in shutting down one of the league’s top power plays. The Blackhawks will no doubt be looking to capitalize on their man advantages without their star player as well, so Dobeš and the defenders in front of him will need to be just as determined in their defensive duties as they were on Sunday night.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#76 Zachary Bolduc |
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
#91 Oliver Kapanen |
#93 Ivan Demidov |
| #17 Josh Anderson |
#62 Owen Beck |
#85 Alexandre Texier |
| #90 Joe Veleno |
#71 Jake Evans |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #48 Lane Hutson |
#45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #47 Jayden Struble |
#53 Noah Dobson |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj |
#42 Adam Engström |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #75 Jakub Dobeš |
#32 Jacob Fowler |
Scratched: Jared Davidson
Conditioning loan: Samuel Montembeault
Injured: Kirby Dach, Kaiden Guhle, Patrik Laine, Mike Matheson, Alex Newhook
Chicago Blackhawks projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Tyler Bertuzzi |
Frank Nazar |
Andre Burakovsky |
| Teuvo Teravainen |
Jason Dickinson |
Ilya Mikheyev |
| Oliver Moore |
Ryan Greene |
Nick Lardis |
| Colton Dach |
Dominic Toninato |
Ryan Donato |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Alex Vlasic |
Louis Crevier |
| Matt Grzelcyk |
Artyom Levshunov |
| Wyatt Kaiser |
Connor Murphy |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Spencer Knight |
Arvid Soderblom |
