Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CBC, CityTV, Sportnet One, Sportsnet Now (English), TVA Sports (French)
Streaming: NHL.tv / NHL Live
The Canadiens played well at five-on-five versus the San Jose Sharks in Thursday’s game, but special teams were a different story, and the reason Montreal was dealt a second straight defeat. That game followed several days of rest, and the Habs are due for several more after tonight’s contest, so they should be feeling good in tonight’s home matchup with the Toronto Mple Leafs.
The Leafs won’t be playing the same shutdown style the Sharks comfortably slipped into two nights ago. Defence hasn’t been a feature of the previous two meetings between the rivals, both 6-5 shootout victories in Montreal’s favour, and there’s no reason to expect a low-scoring affair tonight.
Toronto’s defence, and the struggling backup behind it, should offer plenty of opportunities for a few players off to slow starts to gain some offensive confidence. Paul Byron has yet to score, Shea Weber has just one goal through the first eighth of the season, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been held to just a single point in his last seven games after notching two goals in his first three outings of the year.
Claude Julien’s attempts to tighten up the defence has resulted in a new alignment on the back end. Brett Kulak was an extra skater this morning, signalling that Mikey Reilly, the least-used player on the roster with just two games so far, will be back in tonight. We will have to wait to see how the pairings shake out, but him lining up beside Cale Fleury while Ben Chiarot moves back up to Jeff Petry’s side may be the decision made by the coaching staff.
It’s promising to be a back-and-forth game at the Bell Centre, and the Canadiens will hope the Leafs are less opportunistic than most of their opponents have been this season.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Tomas Tatar | Phillip Danault | Brendan Gallagher |
| Jonathan Drouin | Max Domi | Joel Armia |
| Artturi Lehkonen | Jesperi Kotkaniemi | Paul Byron |
| Nick Cousins | Nate Thompson | Nick Suzuki |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Victor Mete | Shea Weber |
| Ben Chiarot | Jeff Petry |
| Mikey Reilly | Cale Fleury |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Carey Price |
| Keith Kinkaid |
Scratches: Christian Folin, Brett Kulak, Jordan Weal
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Andreas Johnsson | Auston Matthews | William Nylander |
| Ilya Mikheyev | Alexander Kerfoot | Mitch Marner |
| Trevor Moore | Jason Spezza | Kasperi Kapanen |
| Dmytro Timashov | Nick Shore | Frederik Gauthier |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Morgan Rielly | Cody Ceci |
| Jake Muzzin | Tyson Barrie |
| Kevin Gravel | Justin Holl |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Michael Hutchinson |
| Frederik Andersen |
