Game 50: Montreal Canadiens vs. Minnesota Wild
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Wild region: FanDuel Sports Network North/Wisconsin
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Over two months since he sustained a broken foot while blocking a shot, Kirby Dach will play his 16th game of the season tonight when the Montreal Canadiens host the Minnesota Wild. He will join Nick Suzuki’s line opposite Cole Caufield, reuniting a trio that has worked well in the past when put together. The decision to give him that spot was a simple one with Alexandre Texier out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Any decision on how to slot both Dach and Texier into the lineup will wait until both players are healthy at the same time.
Jakub Dobeš will start the game, just his third in the month of January. Though he wasn’t playing much while Jacob Fowler was with the team, Dobeš does have a 4-0-1 record in his last five outings dating back to December 14, and will be aiming for his 15th win of the season in his 22nd start.
Should he claim it, it will be Montreal’s first win over Minnesota since October 17, 2019. The string of losses reached nine with shutout defeats in both games of the season series last year. The Wild haven’t been nearly the shutdown force they’re known as over he past month, so this will be a chance for Montreal to put an end to that streak.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
#91 Oliver Kapanen |
#93 Ivan Demidov |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#77 Kirby Dach |
| #17 Josh Anderson |
#24 Phillip Danault |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc |
#71 Jake Evans |
#90 Joe Veleno |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#53 Noah Dobson |
| #48 Lane Hutson |
#45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle |
#47 Jayden Struble |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #75 Jakub Dobeš |
#35 Samuel Montembeault |
Scratched: Sammy Blais, Arber Xhekaj
Injured: Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, Alexandre Texier
Minnesota Wild projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Kirill Kaprizov |
Ryan Hartman |
Mats Zuccarello |
| Yakov Trenin |
Danila Yurov |
Vladimir Tarasenko |
| Marcus Foligno |
Hunter Haight |
Vinnie Hinostroza |
| Ben Jones |
Nico Sturm |
Tyler Pitlick |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Quinn Hughes |
Brock Faber |
| Jacob Middleton |
Jared Spurgeon |
| Daemon Hunt |
David Jiricek |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Jesper Wallstedt |
Filip Gustavsson |
