Montreal Canadiens @ Seattle Kraken
How to watch
Start time: **10:00 PM EST / 7:00 PM PST**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Kraken region: Root Sports Northwest
With the addition of an NHL team in Seattle, the annual Western Canadian road trip gets extended by one stop. The Canadiens have accumulated one of each result in the three games played so far, and now this final game will determine how the entire trip goes. A 2-1-1 record would be pretty good; a 1-2-1 record, with a couple of losses that probably should have been wins (though also a win that probably should have been a loss), would be tough to swallow.
Tonight’s will be the most difficult game of the four, not only because it’s the best opponent the Habs will face or because Montreal just played last night, but also because injuries have forced them to use up all of their reserves. Sean Monahan’s injury has finally become insufferable and he will be forced to miss the finale of the trip. Chris Wideman, the only player left on the sidelines, comes in not as a forward this time, but a seventh defenceman as Martin St-Louis runs with an 11-7 formation.
Much of the attention will be on Shane Wright in this game as he makes his return from an AHL conditioning stint, but the player the Habs should be the most mindful of is Andre Burakovsky. After a few strong seasons and this summer’s great post-season with the Colorado Avalanche, Burakovsky has landed in Seattle and picked right up where he left off. Playing on the top line, he has 25 points in 24 games to lead the team, and has four multi-point performances in his last six matches. Head coach Dave Hakstol has last word in the matchups on his home ice, so you can expect him to test the strength of the seams in the patchwork lineup the Canadiens are running with.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #22 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#77 Kirby Dach |
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
#71 Jake Evans |
#17 Josh Anderson |
| #63 Evgenii Dadonov |
#28 Christian Dvorak |
#40 Joel Armia |
| #55 Michael Pezzetta |
|
#32 Rem Pitlick |
Defencemen
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #44 Joel Edmundson |
#21 Kaiden Guhle |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#26 Johnny Kovacevic |
| $54 Jordan Harris |
#6 Chris Wideman |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj |
|
Goaltenders
| Starter |
Backup |
| #34 Jake Allen |
#35 Samuel Montembeault |
Scratched: –
Injured: Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, Mike Hoffman, Sean Monahan, David Savard
Seattle Kraken projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Jaden Schwartz |
Alexander Wennberg |
Andre Burakovsky |
| Jared McCann |
Matty Beniers |
Jordan Eberle |
| Yanni Gourde |
Shane Wright |
Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| Brandon Tanev |
Morgan Geekie |
Daniel Sprong |
Defencemen
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Vince Dunn |
Adam Larsson |
| Jamie Oleksiak |
Justin Schultz |
| Carson Soucy |
William Borgen |
Goaltenders
| Starter |
Backup |
| Martin Jones |
Philipp Grubauer |
