Pre-season game 3: Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Maple Leafs region: TSN4
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Not only will tonight’s game — the third of six Montreal will play in the pre-season — be the first for Kirby Dach, but it will be the first featuring the entire projected top six for the Canadiens. The top line gets the call in consecutive games while Ivan Demidov checks back in, so the Habs will have all of their top power-play options at forward available to work on any man-advantage situations.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t sent any of their top players to Montreal for tonight’s match, holding them out until Saturday’s contest at home. But almost all of their options to play in the bottom six made the trip, and that should still offer a test for the Canadiens as they continue to work into game shape.
We’ll also see both Vinzenz Rohrer and Florian Xhekaj, two of the standouts from Tuesday’s game versus Philadelphia, back on the ice. Consistency is probably the most important thing they can show to management and the coaching staff in these auditions, and a second consecutive solid performance from the centremen could raise their standing in the organization.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #13 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #92 Patrik Laine | #77 Kirby Dach | #93 Ivan Demidov |
| #89 Joshua Roy | #96 Vinzenz Rohrer | #46 Filip Mesar |
| #88 Luke Tuch | #63 Florian Xhekaj | #49 Jared Davidson |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #8 Mike Matheson | #53 Noah Dobson |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle | #64 David Reinbacher |
| #65 Ryan O’Rourke | #44 Nate Clurman |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #35 Samuel Montembeault | #32 Jacob Fowler |
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup
Lines at Leafs skate
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) September 25, 2025
Lorentz – Laughton – Cowan
McMann – Kampf – Maccelli
Joshua – Quillan – Lettieri
Pezzetta – Groulx – Tverberg
Mermis – Myers
Rifai – Thrun
Webber – Benning
Villeneuve
Hildeby
Peksa
This group is heading to Montreal @TSN_Sports pic.twitter.com/KZMGJJEKRs
