After winning their first two pre-season games without allowing a goal, the Montreal Canadiens will play their first road game of the pre-season when they had to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs.
Tonight marks the third game of the pre-season, making it the halfway point. The team has yet to make cuts. Those should come after Saturday’s home game, also against Toronto with Laval Rocket training camp set to open by the start of October.
The defence is a group of players battling for spots. Lane Hutson, David Reinbacher, Adam Engström, Jayden Struble, Justin Barron, and Arber Xhekaj will be the defence on Thursday.
Up front, Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak and Emil Heineman will be the top line with a long look for Oliver Kapanen, who will get Joshua Roy and Joel Armia as linemates in what is a very real audition for an NHL spot against what will be NHL opponents.
The Maple Leafs will have close to their NHL lineup for tonight’s game, with only Joseph Woll and Auston Matthews as glaring omissions. Max Pacioretty will play against the team he was captain of for the first time in a Toronto jersey.
The team also provided an update on defender Kaiden Guhle, who skated alone before the team’s morning skate. He will continue to be evaluated day-to-day.
