Sitting dead last in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, the Montreal Canadiens hope to start climbing back up the standings at the hands of the Florida Panthers.
Both clubs made deals over the weekend, with the Panthers sending David Booth to the Vancouver Canucks for Marco Strum and Mikael Samuelsson.
Sturm will be in the lineup tonight against Montreal, while Samuelsson remains in Vancouver to nurse a minor injury.
Jacob Markstrom left the ice first at this morning’s skate, but head coach Kevin Dineen did not give a verbal confirmation whether he or Jose Theodore would get the nod.
The Canadiens latest acquisition, Petteri Nokelainen will be on the ice tonight. The finnish center will wear number 15, centering Michael Blunden and Mathieu Darche.
Jaroslav Spacek is also expected to play tonight, which means Alexei Emelin will sit out.
Peter Budaj makes his Canadiens debut between the pipes.
MONTREAL CANADIENS PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Mike Cammalleri – Tomas Plekanec – Brian Gionta
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Erik Cole
Travis Moen – Lars Eller – Andrei Kostitsyn
Mathieu Darche – Petteri Nokelainen – Michael Blunden
Defense Pairings
Jaroslav Spacek – Yannick Weber
Goalies
Peter Budaj – Carey Price
FLORIDA PANTHERS PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Tomas Fleischmann – Stephen Weiss – Kris Versteeg
Tomas Kopecky – Marcel Goc – Scottie Upshall
Shawn Matthias – Tim Kennedy – Matt Bradley
Marco Sturm – Mike Santorelli – Jack Skille
Defense Pairings
Brian Campbell – Jason Garrison
Ed Jovanovski – Erik Gudbranson
Goalies
Jacob Markstrom – Jose Theodore
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