Game 4: Montreal Canadiens vs. Seattle Kraken
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Kraken region: Kraken Hockey Network (KHN), KONG
Streaming: ESPN+, TSN+, RDS+
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Things have started well for the Montreal Canadiens in 2025-26. Before even hitting the ice for their first game with home-ice advantage, they’ve posted a 2-1-0 record, and the best game they’ve played so far was probably the opening loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s a team that can outplay opponents or outscore them when the flow is more even, and so far there are few obvious weaknesses that have been exploited.
The Seattle Kraken found one last year: creating offence from the back end. The Kraken scored 13 goals in the two-game season series, seven of them from defencemen and four from Brandon Montour alone, including a natural hat trick a little less than a year ago at the Bell Centre. It’s therefore not a surprise that the team is currently being led by blue-liner Vince Dunn, who has three points for the undefeated club.
You have to go down to fifth place to find a defenceman on Montreal’s scoring list, and it’s a revitalized Mike Matheson playing a defined role next to Noah Dobson on what has been a stable duo. You would expect the first name to be Lane Hutson’s, and perhaps having his future secured with a contract that runs until the end of the 2033-34 season will allow him to settle in now. He registered a point on Kaiden Guhle’s game-winner on Saturday, and that just might be the start of his season-long offensive run.
Zachary Bolduc has been Montreal’s top offensive weapon so far, and he’s sure to get a big cheer when he’s introduced. He was the big addition when the free agency period opened, acquired in a trade for Logan Mailloux, and so far has been precisely what the pro scouts saw while he was a member of the St. Louis Blues last year. He brings a three-game goal-scoring streak into this match, and if the power play can be a little more intent on getting shots he will have a strong chance to run that to four in front of his new fans.
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 | #77 Kirby Dach | #11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #92 Patrik Laine | #71 Jake Evans | #17 Josh Anderson |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #21 Kaiden Guhle | #48 Lane Hutson |
| #8 Mike Matheson | #53 Noah Dobson |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj | #45 Alexandre Carrier |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #35 Samuel Montembeault | #75 Jakub Dobeṧ |
Scratched: Jayden Struble, Joe Veleno
Seattle Kraken projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Jared McCann | Matty Beniers | Jordan Eberle |
| Mason Marchment | Shane Wright | Eeli Tolvanen |
| Jaden Schwartz | Chandler Stephenson | Ryan Winterton |
| Tye Kartye | Frederick Gaudreau | Jani Nyman |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Vince Dunn | Adam Larsson |
| Ryan Lindgren | Brandon Montour |
| Josh Mahura | Jamie Oleksiak |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Joey Daccord | Matt Murray |
