Game 21: Montreal Canadiens vs. Utah Hockey Club
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Hockey Club region: Utah16
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Canadiens face Utah HC for the first time after the franchise closed up shop in Tempe, Arizona and headed north to Salt Lake City. The team formerly knows as the Arizona Coyotes left its home of almost 30 years as an up-and-coming team in the league following years of poor finishes but good drafting positions.
It was felt that the club would be quite strong in its inaugural season after building up over the last few, and in the opening couple of weeks that was true as it got off to a 4-1-1 start. But the team has begun to sink since, and now sits sixth in a very tough Central Division, with 19 points.
Outside of a 6-1 win over the shambling Pittsburgh Penguins squad, Utah hasn’t enjoyed many production offensive outings. If Martin St-Louis gets what he wants from a full lineup shakedown in the past two days, tonight’s won’t be one either. No line nor defence pairing was left intact following arguably the worst period the team has played in the new coach’s tenure. Most significant is a demotion to the fourth line for Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovský, however it could be a big, effective trio with Joel Armia on the right side if they can put their games together, and in that case the depth would be very strong on the Habs’ side.
It is also Joshua Roy’s debut after he began the season in Laval. His most recent performance was a three-point game in Laval to get the AHL team back in the win column. He has something to prove to his coach as well after being cut from training camp, so we should see some hungry players trying to extend the woes of the new franchise.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #13 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #35 Alex Newhook |
| #51 Emil Heineman | #71 Jake Evans | #89 Joshua Roy |
| #17 Josh Anderson | #28 Christian Dvorak | #11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský | #77 Kirby Dach | #40 Joel Armia |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #48 Lane Hutson | #21 Kaiden Guhle |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj | #52 Justin Barron |
| #47 Jayden Struble | #52 Justin Barron |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #35 Samuel Montembeault | #30 Cayden Primeau |
Scratched: Michael Pezzetta
Conditioning loan: Rafaël Harvey-Pinard
Injured: Patrik Laine, Mike Matheson
Utah HC projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Clayton Keller | Barrett Hayton | Nick Schmaltz |
| Jack McBain | Logan Cooley | Dylan Guenther |
| Mattias Maccelli | Nick Bjugstad | Lawson Crouse |
| Alex Kerfoot | Kevin Stenlund | Michael Carcone |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Mikhail Sergachev | Olli Maatta |
| Ian Cole | Maveric Lamoureux |
| Michael Kesselring | Robert Bortuzzo |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Karel Vejmelka | Jaxson Stauber |
