Montreal Canadiens vs. 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)
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live, Sportsnet Now
It’s been a week since the Canadiens last played a game, getting a full week off in what has been among the lightest non-COVID-delayed schedules to start the year. Things get much more hectic starting with the Saturday night rematch versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, seeing few two-day breaks between now and the end of the season.
For Tomas Tatar, the break has been even longer. He sat out last Saturday’s 2-1 win as a healthy scratch, so hasn’t played in nine days. After first seeing what had been a permanent spot on one of the NHL’s most effective lines in recent years taken by newcomer Tyler Toffoli, he was pulled out of the lineup altogether, and now has a lot to prove as he makes his way back in.
When we last saw the Habs, they were struggling with their puck-management and offensive creativity over a stretch of several games. However, the reason they went into the break on a winning note was because they started to turn things back in the right direction, and had full control of the flow of play starting late in the second period versus Toronto. Some important work from the likes of Victor Mete, Ben Chiarot, and Jeff Petry provided some puck movement the club had been desperately lacking during the team’s slump. With the same group of blue-liners back in action tonight, that kind of play will be the key to starting off this marathon finish to the season on the right foot.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Jonathan Drouin |
Nick Suzuki |
Josh Anderson |
| Tyler Toffoli |
Phillip Danault |
Brendan Gallagher |
| Tomas Tatar |
Jesperi Kotkaniemi |
Joel Armia |
| Artturi Lehkonen |
Jake Evans |
Paul Byron |
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
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Joe Thornton |
Auston Matthews |
Mitch Marner |
| Zach Hyman |
John Tavares |
William Nylander |
| Ilya Mikheyev |
Alex Kerfoot |
Pierre Engvall |
| Jimmy Vesey |
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 |
