Game 77: Montreal Canadiens @ Nashville Predators
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Predators region: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The New York Islanders were unfazed by seeing Alexander Ovechkin set the all-time goals record against them this afternoon, making that the only goal they allowed in a 4-1 win. But they still sit five points back of the Montreal Canadiens with only six games to play. As I write this article, the Columbus Blue Jackets are losing 2-0 to an Ottawa Senators club that has been hard to beat in recent weeks.
Of all of today’s playoff hopefuls in the East, the Canadiens face the easiest opponent in their quest to claim the vital two points. The Nashville Predators appear to have all but given up on this season with few wins and barely any more goals recently, and it’s another case of Montreal just needing to put in a bit of effort to dishearten a woeful opponent.
Who will author that performance tonight? Brendan Gallagher, who got the scoring started last night and moved to 20 goals on the season? Lane Hutson, who wowed with the greatest goal of his NHL career to date? Nick Suzuki, who has been red-hot since the 4 Nations ended? Jake Evans, who has three points in his last two games after a stretch of seven games without one? Or someone else who wants to give the team a stranglehold on the final wild-card position, and maybe even allow his team a moment of rest over the final week of regular-season play?
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #17 Josh Anderson |
#28 Christian Dvorak |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #92 Patrik Laine |
#15 Alex Newhook |
#91 Oliver Kapanen |
| #55 Michael Pezzetta |
#71 Jake Evans |
#40 Joel Armia |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle |
#48 Lane Hutson |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #47 Jayden Struble |
#72 Arber Xhekaj |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #75 Jakub Dobeṧ |
#35 Samuel Montembeault |
Scratched: Emil Heineman, Joshua Roy, David Savard
Injured: Kirby Dach
Nashville Predators projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Michael Bunting |
Ryan O’Reilly |
Luke Evangelista |
| Filip Forsberg |
Steven Stamkos |
Zachary L’Heureux |
| Cole Smith |
Michael McCarron |
Jakub Vrana |
| Kieffer Bellows |
Fedor Svechkov |
Ozzy Wiesblatt |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Brady Skjei |
Nick Blankenburg |
| Marc Del Gaizo |
Justin Barron |
| Andreas Englund |
Jordan Oesterle |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Juuse Saros |
Justus Annunen |
