The Canadiens end of season schedule isn’t exactly a kind one as they face off with another playoff bound team in the Winnipeg Jets.
For the Canadiens they’re trying to find whatever positives they can in games, while also trying to keep pace with the other bottom feeders in a race for the chance to draft Rasmus Dahlin. Carey Price is looking to find some consistency in his game heading into the off-season before his mammoth new contract kicks in while players like Jeff Petry and Brendan Gallagher will look to add to their career best seasons.
Fans will also be looking for Jonathan Drouin to keep up his late season run of form, as the young forward has been showing more and more why he can do some truly incredible things on ice. Finally is the quest for another 20 goal year from Paul Byron, the former waiver wire pick up has turned out to be one of Marc Bergevin’s best moves in his time as GM.
The Jets are flying high, no pun intended as their young stars, and older vets lead the way in a highly competitive Central Division. Obviously Patrik Laine grabs the headlines, his shot is ridiculous and he scores goals like I eat cheeseburgers – with relative ease. Behind him though are NHL stars in their own right, with Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Mark Scheifele.
Even behind that is Kyle Connor, Bryan Little and the trade deadline acquisition Paul Stastny, making the Jets a scary offensive force, even if their defence is a bit banged up. Even with those injuries however, Winnipeg will call on rookie Sami Niku, who has been lighting the AHL on fire with his scoring pace, not exactly a bad problem to have.
The Jets have a lot of their fire power out of the lineup tonight, but get to show off the depth they have.
Puck drop is at 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST
How to watch
In the Habs region: TSN 2, TSN Go (English), RDS (French)
In the Jets region: TSN 3, TSN Go
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL GameCentre Live, NHL Center Ice
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Byron | Jonathan Drouin | Brendan Gallagher |
| Alex Galchenyuk | Jacob de la Rose | Artturi Lehkonen |
| Daniel Carr | Logan Shaw | Kerby Rychel |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | Michael McCarron | Byron Froese |
Defence
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Jordie Benn | Jeff Petry |
| Karl Alzner | Noah Juulsen |
| Mike Reilly | Brett Lernout |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Carey Price |
| Antti Niemi |
Winnipeg Jets projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Nikolaj Ehlers | Paul Stastny | Patrik Laine |
| Kyle Connor | Bryan Little | Joel Armia |
| Mathieu Perreault | Jack Roslovic | Marko Dano |
| Andrew Copp | Shawn Matthias | Brandon Tanev |
Defence
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Dustin Byfuglien | Tyler Myers |
| Joe Morrow | Tucker Poolman |
| Ben Chariot | Sami Niku |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Steve Mason |
| Eric Comrie |
