Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: RDS (French)
Streaming: RDS Direct
The second full year of the Montreal Canadiens’ rebuild starts on Monday night at the Bell Centre as they host the New Jersey Devils. It becomes clear that the young pieces are coming into play by looking at their lineup for tonight’s game.
Despite not having all of their NHL centres from opening night a year ago (who all remain in the organization) and most of the key players who were saved for the Red vs White scrimmage, they have a lineup that – while undoubtedly a pre-season lineup – is not one that screams pre-season lineup.
The only players to not have NHL games in the lineup are Joshua Roy, Xavier Simoneau, newcomer Nathan Légaré, first-round picks David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux, and goaltender Jakub Dobeš.
There is plenty of youth in the lineup with the pre-season debuts of Slafkovský, newcomer Alex Newhook, and Owen Beck up front. Rookies from a year ago: Kaiden Guhle, Justin Barron, Arber Xhekaj, and Jordan Harris are actually the most experienced defenders in the lineup.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Juraj Slafkovský | Alex Newhook | Josh Anderson |
| Joshua Roy | Owen Beck | Jesse Ylönen |
| Michael Pezzetta | Mitchell Stephens | Sean Farrell |
| Xavier Simoneau | Lucas Condotta | Nathan Légaré |
Defence
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Kaiden Guhle | David Reinbacher |
| Arber Xhekaj | Justin Barron |
| Jordan Harris | Logan Mailloux |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Samuel Montembeault | Jakub Dobeš |
New Jersey Devils projected lineup
The Canadiens youngsters will be challenged as they face a lineup that includes Jack Hughes, Tyler Toffoli, and Dawson Mercer. Former Canadien Chris Tierney will also play.
Simon Nemec will play for the Devils. He says it is the first time that he and Juraj Slafkovský will ever play against each other.
Akira Schmid is expected to play two periods and then give way to former Canadien Keith Kinkaid.
All things considered, considering the Devils are split into two teams with a game against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight, it’s not a bad group that made the day trip to Montreal.
