Game 29: Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Lightning region: The Spot
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Montreal Canadiens will play the first of four games versus the Tampa Bay Lightning this season, a series that could potentially determine which of the teams qualifies for the playoffs. The Atlantic Division remains tight, with the Detroit Red Wings jumping from fourth to first with two points last night. Should the Habs win and the Boston Bruins take fewer than two points off the St. Louis Blues, it will be Montreal occupying that top spot when the night is done.
Getting a win is just as much about the Canadiens not beating themselves as it is containing an opponent like the Lightning. The second period has been a trouble spot for them, but over the past week or so they’ve begun to shift the scoring back in their favour in the middle frame. Versus the Blues on Sunday they were maybe just too eager to prevent any issues with the long change when they tried to force a good start, and quickly fell into a 3-1 hole instead. There’s a line between aggression and recklessness that the club hasn’t quite discovered yet.
For the third time in four days, Jakub Dobeš will make the start. It sounds like a lot of work, but he only faced 41 shots across both weekend games. He had a personal run of consecutive victories snapped after being given little chance on some odd-man offensive situations on Sunday night, but is Montreal’s best bet to get an important win tonight, if the skaters in front of him don’t work against him.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #85 Alexandre Texier |
#91 Oliver Kapanen |
#93 Ivan Demidov |
| #17 Josh Anderson |
#71 Jake Evans |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #49 Jared Davidson |
#90 Joe Veleno |
#76 Zachary Bolduc |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#53 Noah Dobson |
| #47 Jayden Struble |
#48 Lane Hutson |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj |
#45 Alexandre Carrier |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #75 Jakub Dobeš |
#35 Samuel Montembeault |
Injured: Kirby Dach, Kaiden Guhle, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook
Tampa Bay Lightning projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Brandon Hagel |
Anthony Cirelli |
Nikita Kucherov |
| Jake Guentzel |
Brayden Point |
Nick Paul |
| Pontus Holmberg |
Yanni Gourde |
Zemgus Girgensons |
| Gage Goncalves |
Jack Finley |
Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Victor Hedman |
Max Crozier |
| J.J. Moser |
Darren Raddysh |
| Charle-Edouard D’Astous |
Emil Lilleberg |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Brandon Halverson |
Jonas Johansson |
