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Canadiens vs Sharks Game Thread

The powerhouse San Jose Sharks are in store for the Habs tonight, as Montreal plays the final game in their West Coast swing.

Peter Budaj will once again get the start for the Canadiens. He’ll look to improve on his 3-2 record since taking over from the ailing Carey Price. However the gold medalist goalie should be back in the fold next week, much to the relief to Habs fans everywhere.

All eyes will be on Thomas Vanek, he’ll be suiting up for his second game since the deadline trade that brought him to the Habs. His first game with Plekanec and Gionta went reasonably well, although it was apparent that Vanek had yet to practice with his team. Hopefully he’ll be a little more comfortable tonight and continue to create scoring chances.

P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov will have to continue their dominant ways since they returned from the Olympics if the Habs hope to secure a win. The defencemen both have six points in five games since returning from Sochi.

Puck drop is at 10:00 PM EST.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Left Wing
Center
Right Wing
Thomas Vanek Tomas Plekanec Brian Gionta
Max Pacioretty David Desharnais Brendan Gallagher
Alex Galchenyuk Lars Eller Rene Bourque
Travis Moen Daniel Briere Ryan White

Left Defense
Right Defense
Jarred Tinordi P.K. Subban
Andrei Markov Alexei Emelin
Douglas Murray Mike Weaver

Goaltenders
Peter Budaj
Dustin Tokarski

Scratches: Dale Weise, George Parros

Injuries: Michael Bournival (concussion, day-to-day), Carey Price (groin, injured reserve), Brandon Prust (shoulder, day-to-day), Josh Gorges (fractured hand, 1 week)

As for the Sharks

San Jose Sharks Projected Lineup
Left Wing
Center
Right Wing
Joe Pavelski Joe Thornton Brent Burns
Patrick Marleau Logan Couture Matt Nieto
Raffi Torres James Sheppard Tommy Wingels
Marty Havlat Andrew Desjardins Adam Burish

Left Defense
Right Defense
Marc-Edouard Vlasic Jason Demers
Matt Irwin Justin Braun
Scott Hannan Dan Boyle

Goaltenders
Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock

Injuries: Tomas Hertl, Brad Stuart.

Check out the opposing side at Fear the Fin.

The game will be available via a live stream from the Hockey Night In Canada website. It will be aired on Canadian TV on CBC and RDS, and in the United States on CSN California.

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