Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CBC, CityTV (English), TVA Sports (French)
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live, Sportsnet Now
If you just saw the goal summary from the first game of the home-opening series, you may have believed that the Canadiens coasted to a comfortable 4-0 lead before surrendering two meaningless goals late. However, the actual story was a bit different, with Carey Price needing to make some big saves from a determined Flames team, and getting a bit of help from the metalwork behind him on a few occasions to keep the opponents off the board.
You would also have missed a feisty finish to the game that may set the tone for tonight. Seeing their position in the North Division plummeting, the Flames held a players-only meeting after the loss, and you know the consensus after all grievances were aired was that they needed to replicate the performance of the first period while bringing the same physical element of the final shifts.
It means tonight’s starter, Jake Allen, will have to be on his toes if he wants to run his record to a perfect 3-0 with his new team. He’s been up to the challenge so far, but a more composed showing from the players in front of him will give him the best odds of earning the victory. The Canadiens have displayed some exceptional special-teams play so far, and now the Flames are forcing them to get their even-strength game on the same level.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #90 Tomas Tatar |
#24 Phillip Danault |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #92 Jonathan Drouin |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#17 Josh Anderson |
| #73 Tyler Toffoli |
#15 Jesperi Kotkaniemi |
#94 Corey Perry |
| #41 Paul Byron |
#71 Jake Evans |
#62 Artturi Lehkonen |
Defencemen
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Ben Chiarot |
#6 Shea Weber |
| #44 Joel Edmundson |
#26 Jeff Petry |
| #77 Brett Kulak |
#27 Alexander Romanov |
Goaltenders
| Starter |
Backup |
| #34 Jake Allen |
#31 Carey Price |
Injured: Joel Armia (concussion)
Scratched: Victor Mete
Calgary Flames projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Matthew Tkachuk |
Elias Lindholm |
Dominik Simon |
| Johnny Gaudreau |
Sean Monahan |
Andrew Mangiapane |
| Sam Bennett |
Mikael Backlund |
Josh Leivo |
| Milan Lucic |
Derek Ryan |
Joakim Nordstrom |
Defencemen
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Mark Giordano |
Rasmus Andersson |
| Noah Hanifin |
Chris Tanev |
| Juuso Valimaki |
Nikita Nesterov |
Goaltenders
| Starter |
Backup |
| Jacob Markstrom |
David Rittich |
