The Montreal Canadiens (9-12-3) and their fans breathed a sigh of relief as all-star goaltender Carey Price returned to the lineup after being out since November 2. Price did not disappoint, recording 36 saves en route to his first shutout of the season, and 40th of his impressive NHL career as they shut out Buffalo 3-0.
On Monday night, they welcome back a Columbus Blue Jackets (15-7-1) team that are riding a season-high six-game winning streak. The Blue Jackets have been successful largely in part this season to their goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has 14 wins, second only to Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (15).
They are also a team that gets their goal scoring from everyone up and down their lineup. Out of everyone who has suited up for Columbus, only forward Jordan Schroeder (five games) and blue-liner Scott Harrington (two) have yet to find the back of the net. 20 others have contributed, with off-season acquisition Artemi Panarin leading in points with 15 and forward Josh Anderson with eight goals.
The Canadiens are a team who have found themselves at the wrong end of two bad losing streaks, going seven and five games respectively without a W. However, with Price back in the lineup and appearing to be in good form, things could be turning around for them.
Defenceman Shea Weber, who has missed his team’s last three games with a lower body injury, will be out for a fourth in a row tonight. The 26-year-old Jakub Jerabek, who was called up from the Laval Rocket, has suited up for Montreal on two occasions, and has earned enough trust from the coaching staff to stay in even with David Schlemko’s return.
This game is the second time these two teams are facing off this month. Back on November 14, Montreal found themselves behind just over two minutes into the game when Anderson scored, but the hot play of goaltender Charlie Lindgren helped kept it a one goal game. Forward Paul Byron was able to tie the game up at one apiece with just under eight minutes left on the clock. However, Zach Werenski took a drop pass from teammate Cam Atkinson just 1:09 into overtime and scored the game winner.
Montreal is hoping for a better outcome this evening.
Puck drop at the Bell Centre is at 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST.
How to watch
In the Canadiens region: TSN2, TSNGO, (English) RDS (French)
In the Blue Jackets region: FS-O
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL GameCentre Live, NHL Center Ice
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Max Pacioretty | Phillip Danault | Andrew Shaw |
| Alex Galchenyuk | Jonathan Drouin | Paul Byron |
| Charles Hudon | Tomas Plekanec | Brendan Gallagher |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | Jacob de la Rose | Byron Froese |
Defence
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Karl Alzner | Jeff Petry |
| Joe Morrow | Jordie Benn |
| Victor Mete | Jakub Jerabek |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Carey Price |
| Antti Niemi |
Scratched: Brandon Davidson, David Schlemko
Injured: Ales Hemsky (concussion-like symptoms), Al Montoya (concussion), Nikita Scherbak (lower body), Artturi Lekhonen (lower body), Shea Weber (lower body).
Columbus Blue Jackets projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Boone Jenner | Brandon Dubinsky | Cam Atkinson |
| Artemi Panarin | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Josh Anderson |
| Sonny Milano | Nick Foligno | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| Tyler Motte | Lukas Sedlak | Jordan Schroeder |
Defence
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Zach Werenski | Seth Jones |
| Jack Johnson | David Savard |
| Ryan Murray | Markus Nutivaara |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
