Game 63: Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: Sportsnet E/O/P/1 (English), RDS (French)
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, Sportsnet+
Normally a game between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs is something to look forward to on the NHL schedule, a match that usually provides good entertainment no matter where the teams are in the standings. On this night, it’s more of a nuisance; for the Canadiens who have to play a night before a game with actual playoff implications tomorrow, and for the Maple Leafs who just want a dreary season to come to an end. Montreal has points in nine of the past 10 games its played, Toronto in just six of its last 16, and both fanbases are happy to see their teams continue at that pace.
That’s not to say the two points are guaranteed for Montreal tonight. They just played two games in California in which they scored five goals and didn’t win either. As bad as the Leafs have been and as disinterested as they’ve proven to be since the Olympics ended, they still have talented players in their lineup who can score, especially against Montreal’s porous defence.
The will to win is heavily in Montreal’s corner tonight, and the Habs are bound to put a number of goals on the scoreboard once again. Not getting the attention to detail needed on defence is the only way Toronto will leave Montreal with the two points, so that will need to be sharp from the opening puck drop through to what should be a loud chorus from the Bell Centre 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 |
#71 Jake Evans |
#77 Kirby Dach |
| #17 Josh Anderson |
#24 Phillip Danault |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#21 Kaiden Guhle |
| #48 Lane Hutson |
#53 Noah Dobson |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj |
#45 Alexandre Carrier |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #75 Jakub Dobeš |
#35 Samuel Montembeault |
Scratched: Jayden Struble, Alexandre Texier, Joe Veleno
Injured: Patrik Laine
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Matthew Knies |
Auston Matthews |
Max Domi |
| Matias Maccelli |
John Tavares |
William Nylander |
| Easton Cowan |
Jacob Quillan |
Nick Robertson |
| Dakota Joshua |
Benoit-Olivier Groulx |
Steven Lorentz |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Morgan Rielly |
Brandon Carlo |
| Jake McCabe |
Oliver Ekman-Larsson |
| Simon Benoit |
Troy Stecher |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Joseph Woll |
Anthony Stolarz |
