Game 76: Montreal Canadiens @ New Jersey Devils
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVS Sports (French)
In the Devils region: MSG
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Both the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators were beaten on Saturday afternoon, and that means the highest total that can be achieved by whichever team that takes the second wild-card position is 100 points. That is the number the Montreal Canadiens can reach tonight if they extend their winning streak to eight in New Jersey. They won’t be able to clinch their playoff berth like the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning already have because the Habs haven’t locked up the regulation-wins tiebreaker.
They can set up a chance to clinch tomorrow in the second half of this home-and-home series with the Devils if they get just a point tonight, but that would be a disappointing result for a group that comes in with seven consecutive wins, allowing a total of 11 goals in that time and no more than two in any of the past six games. Montreal believes it can win any game it plays, and has been better both in recent games and over the full season than today’s opponent.
One of the keys today will be Montreal’s third line continuing the form it’s shown since the Olympic break, one of the Canadiens’ most consistent units in the last few weeks. The first and second lines can experience varying levels of success depending on how they’re being defended, but the trio of Zachary Bolduc, Jake Evans, and Josh Anderson has been playing hard deep in the offensive zone and setting the table for their more skilled teammates. Every shift that begins in New Jersey’s end is one where the Devils aren’t deploying Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt in the attacking zone, which is the one thing that could threaten the Habs’ winning streak in this road trip finale.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #15 Alex Newhook |
#91 Oliver Kapanen |
#93 Ivan Demidov |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc |
#71 Jake Evans |
#17 Josh Anderson |
| #90 Joe Veleno |
#24 Phillip Danault |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#53 Noah Dobson |
| #47 Jayden Struble |
#48 Lane Hutson |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle |
#72 Arber Xhekaj |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #75 Jakub Dobeš |
#35 Samuel Montembeault |
Injured: Alexandre Carrier, Kirby Dach, Alexandre Texier
Scratched: Adam Engström, Jacob Fowler, Patrik Laine
New Jersey Devils projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Jesper Bratt |
Jack Hughes |
Connor Brown |
| Timo Meier |
Nico Hischier |
Dawson Mercer |
| Lenni Hameenaho |
Cody Glass |
Nick Bjugstad |
| Marc McLaughlin |
Paul Cotter |
Brian Halonen |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Jonas Siegenthaler |
Dougie Hamilton |
| Luke Hughes |
Johnny Kovacevic |
| Brenden Dillon |
Simon Nemec |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Jake Allen |
Jacob Markstrom |
