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

Montreal Canadiens @ Arizona Coyotes

How to watch

Start time: 10:00 PM EDT / 7:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2, TSN Direct (English), RDS, RDS Direct (French)
In the Coyotes region: Fox Sports Arizona
Streaming: NHL.tv / NHL Live

After a stretch in which the Canadiens played two games in nine days, their schedule now gets a bit hectic. A western road trip begins this evening in Arizona, with the third and final game played on Saturday versus the Dallas Stars.

The Coyotes are looking good to this point of the season, currently ranked as the league’s second-best defence with a stingy goals against per game of just over two. It’s a test for Montreal offence, which ranks in the top five thanks to a four-line offensive depth, but was also shut down by the strong defensive system of the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. How the players and coaches deal with the Coyotes’ approach will be the thing to pay attention to tonight.

Perhaps the solution will be to put the defence under pressure, as the Canadiens did on Saturday versus the Leafs. Defenders had no time to make plays as Montreal’s forwards were right in their faces, and such a tactic could work again.

The same players from that victory will be in action at Gila River Arena. Claude Julien was satisfied with how that group responded, and the consistency of all the lines and pairings, and hopes the group can come up with another winning effort.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders

Scratches: Christian Folin, Brett Kulak, Jordan Weal

Arizona Coyotes projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders