Montreal Canadiens @ Detroit Red Wings
How to watch
Start time: 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST
In Canada: TSN2, TSN Direct (English), RDS, RDS Direct (French)
In the Red Wings region: Fox Sports Detroit
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live
For the fourth and thankfully final time in the 2019-20 season, the Montreal Canadiens will play the team that ranks worst in the NHL by nearly every measure.
No fan of the Habs would have said anything remotely similar to that last season. Everyone would surely have preferred to add half a dozen more games versus a team that was soundly defeated on four occasions, with Montreal outscoring their divisional oppoent 21-7. This year has been one of retribution for Detroit, as they’ve grabbed all six points available to them in a year when victories are generally few and far between.
The Canadiens have loaded up on reinforcements to make sure they don’t get swept out of Little Caesars Arena at the end of the night. Shea Weber will be back in on the top pairing. Paul Byron also seems to be ready go after overcoming what must have been a major setback in his recovery a few months ago.
It just wouldn’t be right to have the full team ready to go (not that Weber will be anything close to 100% with his ailment), so Brendan Gallagher is a game-time decision after tweaking something in his right leg in the last match. Anticipating he wouldn’t be able to play, the lines have been loaded up on the right side, with Ilya Kovalchuk poised to take the top spot if needed, and a likely addition of Jordan Weal lower down if the Canadiens’ sparkplug can’t go.
UPDATE:
Brendan Gallagher ne participera pas au match de ce soir (blessé – bas du corps).
Brendan Gallagher will not be playing tonight (lower body injury).#GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 19, 2020
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Tomas Tatar | Phillip Danault | Jordan Weal |
| Jonathan Drouin | Nick Suzuki | Joel Armia |
| Artturi Lehkonen | Max Domi | Ilya Kovalchuk |
| Paul Byron | Nate Thompson | Nick Cousins |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Ben Chiarot | Shea Weber |
| Brett Kulak | Jeff Petry |
| Xavier Ouellet | Victor Mete |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Carey Price |
| Charlie Lindgren |
Detroit Red Wings projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Robby Fabbri | Dylan Larkin | Anthony Mantha |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | Valtteri Filppula | Andreas Athanasiou |
| Darren Helm | Luke Glendening | Frans Nielsen |
| Justin Abdelkader | Christoffer Ehn | Brendan Perlini |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Trevor Daley | Mike Green |
| Patrik Nemeth | Gustav Lindstrom |
| Madison Bowey | Alex Biega |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Jonathan Bernier |
| Jimmy Howard |
