Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet, CityTV (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the U.S.: NHL Network
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live, Sportsnet Now
Fears of a COVID outbreak on the Canadiens’ roster were allayed by the news today that Jesse Puljujarvi has been cleared to resume activities with the Edmonton Oilers, and there have been no other developments from Thursday on that front for either team. At least for now, the North Division has seen the calmest waters of the four reshuffled groups in the NHL this season.
As for the on-ice product, the Canadiens have had no positive news there for a few days either. The most recent performance was being shut out by the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, the second times in 14 games they’ve failed to get on the scoreboard. For reference, the Habs were held scoreless just one time on the way to finishing 24th after a 71-game regular season last year.
On Thursday it was less about a goaltender making some incredible saves as had been the case when Jacob Markstrom came to town on January 30, and more about making life easy on Oilers netminder Mike Smith with telegraphed attempts at goal. It’s been a bizarre run for the team since returning to the Bell Centre for their first home games, especially baffling when juxtaposed against the high-flying ability that made them unstoppable to start the year.
There’s one game left on the calendar before Montreal gets a full week off. None of the players want to go in that period with another poor performance than drops a record that started at 7-1-2 to 8-5-2, and they have the talent to prevent that from happening. After a day of video work to pinpoint the tactics the team has gotten away from, hopefully the game plan is much more effective, and entertaining, tonight.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Drouin | Nick Suzuki | Josh Anderson |
| Tyler Toffoli | Phillip Danault | Brendan Gallagher |
| Artturi Lehkonen | Jesperi Kotkaniemi | Joel Armia |
| Paul Byron | Jake Evans | Corey Perry |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Ben Chiarot | Shea Weber |
| Joel Edmundson | Jeff Petry |
| Victor Mete | Alexander Romanov |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Carey Price | Jake Allen |
Scratched: Brett Kulak, Tomas Tatar
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Zach Hyman | Auston Matthews | Mitch Marner |
| William Nylander | John Tavares | Ilya Mikheyev |
| Pierre Engvall | Alex Kerfoot | Jimmy Vesey |
| Nic Petan | Travis Boyd | Jason Spezza |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Morgan Rielly | T.J. Brodie |
| Jake Muzzin | Justin Holl |
| Travis Dermott | Zach Bogosian |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Frederik Andersen | Michael Hutchinson |
