The Montreal Canadiens welcome the Vegas Golden Knights to the Bell Centre for the first time tonight, and while in the summer you would have expected to see Marc-Andre Fleury against Carey Price, tonight’s goaltending matchup is… decidedly not that.
Charlie Lindgren will get his second straight start after a shutout in Chicago on Sunday, while Maxime Lagace should start for the Golden Knights. Vegas played last night in Toronto, so there is a chance that emergency call up Dylan Ferguson will play his first NHL game.
Charles Hudon seems poised for a return to the lineup after missing the Blackhawks game with an upper body injury. Jacob de la Rose will sit for Hudon.
Vegas is a surprising 9-4-1 this season and are led by James Neal who scored his eighth goal of the season last night in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Maple Leafs. Reilly Smith and Deryk Engelland also scored for the Golden Knights.
They are in the final game of a six game road trip and they are 1-3-1 through the first five games. Their only win was against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Puck drop is at 7:30 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
How to watch
In the Canadiens region: TSN2, TSNGO (English), RDS (French)
In the Golden Knights region: ATTSN-RM
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL GameCentre Live, NHL Center Ice
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Galchenyuk | Jonathan Drouin | Artturi Lehkonen |
| Max Pacioretty | Phillip Danault | Andrew Shaw |
| Paul Byron | Tomas Plekanec | Brendan Gallagher |
| Charles Hudon | Michael McCarron | Torrey Mitchell |
Defence
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Jordie Benn | Jeff Petry |
| Karl Alzner | Noah Juulsen |
| Mike Reilly | David Schlemko |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Antti Niemi |
| Charlie Lindgren |
Scratched: Brandon Davidson
Injured: Ales Hemsky (concussion), Carey Price (lower body), Nikita Scherbak (knee), David Schlemko (hand)
Vegas Golden Knights projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Marchessault | William Karlsson | Reilly Smith |
| David Perron | Erik Haula | James Neal |
| Oscar Lindberg | Cody Eakin | Alex Tuch |
| Brendan Leipsic | Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | Tomas Nosek |
Defence
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Nate Schmidt | Luca Sbisa |
| Brayden McNabb | Deryk Engelland |
| Colin Miller | Shea Theodore |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Maxime Lagace |
| Dylan Ferguson |
Scratched: William Carrier, Jon Merrill, Brad Hunt,
Injured: Marc-Andre Fleury, Clayton Stoner, Malcolm Subban, Oscar Dansk, probably some goalie they haven’t even drafted yet
