Game 45: Montreal Canadiens vs. Detroit Red Wings
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Red Wings region: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
Missing the last 39 games after undergoing surgery, Kaiden Guhle will be in the lineup for the first time since October 16. He will provide an important defensive boost versus a potent Detroit Red Wings team, and try to help slow their especially dangerous power play. It’s Jayden Struble who comes out of the lineup to allow for Guhle’s return as the defence returns to full health.
There are still plenty on injuries among the forward corps, but you wouldn’t know it with the way the team has been scoring recently. On this current 8-1-2 stretch, they’ve enjoyed a margin of victory of three or more goals on five occasions, including in the first two games of this homestand. That’s been largely due to the play of Alexandre Texier, who is red-hot at the moment, with three multi-point games already this month.
Jacob Fowler has gotten the call for this important matchup of teams tied for the division lead. His ninth NHL game will be played versus John Gibson in his 533rd. Both goaltenders have been in great form for their teams, and they will need to be versus the powerful offences on offer in this match.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
#91 Oliver Kapanen |
#93 Ivan Demidov |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#85 Alexandre Texier |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc |
#24 Phillip Danault |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #27 Sammy Blais |
#90 Joe Veleno |
#62 Owen Beck |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#53 Noah Dobson |
| #48 Lane Hutson |
#45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle |
#72 Arber Xhekaj |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #32 Jacob Fowler |
#75 Jakub Dobeš |
Scratched: Samuel Montembeault, Jayden Struble
Injured: Josh Anderson, Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook
Detroit Red Wings projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Emmitt Finnie |
Dylan Larkin |
Marco Kasper |
| Alex DeBrincat |
Andrew Copp |
Patrick Kane |
| James van Riemsdyk |
J.T. Compher |
Lucas Raymond |
| Elmer Soderblom |
Michael Rasmussen |
Mason Appleton |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Simon Edvinsson |
Moritz Seider |
| Ben Chiarot |
Axel Sandin-Pellikka |
| Albert Johansson |
Jacob Bernard-Docker |
| Starter |
Backup |
| John Gibson |
Cam Talbot |
