Game 68: Montreal Canadiens @ Detroit Red Wings
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Red Wings region: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Just a few days ago, all the talk in Montreal was about how they would work all their healthy forwards into the lineup, and made the decision to leave Brendan Gallagher in the press box for a game. Now, they’re dealing with an injury to Kirby Dach and tonight a minor one to Josh Anderson, and that depth that was seen as a hassle is now an important source for the Habs to draw upon for a big game versus the Detroit Red Wings.
Detroit’s depth is really being tested with the losses of Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp, though the latter is nearing a return, which could come tonight. The Red Wings have struggled to score goals without their captain, so their best bet to get the two points tonight is to focus on their defence. That is one of their best aspects this season, and something Montreal already witnessed in a shutout loss two months ago.
Jakub Dobeš has been called upon once more after getting the win versus Boston on Tuesday. There isn’t a bad choice for Martin St-Louis with Dobeš and Jacob Fowler to choose from, so he’s opted to go with the hot hand. A good result will depend just as much on the six defencemen in front of Dobeš being able to limit the chances of the offensive players who remain, notably Alex DeBrincat who leads the team in goals, and letting Montreal’s forwards grind away in the offensive zone.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #15 Alex Newhook |
#91 Oliver Kapanen |
#93 Ivan Demidov |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc |
#71 Jake Evans |
#85 Alexandre Texier |
| #90 Joe Veleno |
#24 Phillip Danault |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#53 Noah Dobson |
| #47 Jayden Struble |
#48 Lane Hutson |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle |
#45 Alexandre Carrier |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #75 Jakub Dobeš |
#32 Jacob Fowler |
Injured: Josh Anderson, Kirby Dach
Scratched: Patrik Laine, Samuel Montembeault, Arber Xhekaj
Detroit Red Wings projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Alex DeBrincat |
J.T. Compher |
Patrick Kane |
| David Perron |
Emmitt Finnie |
Lucas Raymond |
| James van Riemsdyk |
Marco Kasper |
Mason Appleton |
| Domink Shine |
Shedlon Dries |
John Leonard |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Simon Edvinsson |
Moritz Seider |
| Ben Chiarot |
Justin Faulk |
| Albert Johansson |
Jacob Bernard-Docker |
| Starter |
Backup |
| John Gibson |
Cam Talbot |
