Game 53: Montreal Canadiens vs. Anaheim Ducks
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Ducks region: Bally Sports SoCal, Bally Sports San Diego
Streaming: ESPN+, TSN+, RDS
Sunday’s game was a disaster from just about every angle, but there is one silver lining from the matinée horror show, and that is that Kaiden Guhle was only hurt on a hit late in the game, and not injured. The top-pairing defenceman is back in the lineup for tonight’s game, likely still dealing with some discomfort from bruised ribs.
Jordan Harris is out with a suspected concussion, so Arber Xhekaj makes his return to the lineup after sitting out a game. It is also Cayden Primeau’s turn in net as he faces the weakest of the three teams faced on this homestand, getting his first start since January 18, though he did appear late in the game versus the Boston Bruins on January 20.
Though Anaheim is one of the worst teams overall this season, they have enjoyed some success and have several forwards producing, so this won’t just be an easy win for Montreal. They will need to get back to the assertive style of play that kept them in the game versus the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #22 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #40 Joel Armia |
#35 Alex Newhook |
#89 Joshua Roy |
| #70 Tanner Pearson |
#71 Jake Evans |
#17 Josh Anderson |
| #55 Michael Pezzetta |
#74 Brandon Gignac |
#56 Jesse Ylönen |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#21 Kaiden Guhle |
| #47 Jayden Struble |
#58 David Savard |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj |
#26 Johnny Kovacevic |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #30 Cayden Primeau |
#35 Samuel Montembeault |
Injured: Kirby Dach, Christian Dvorak, Jordan Harris, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Chris Wideman
Suspended: Brendan Gallagher
Scratched: Jake Allen
Anaheim Ducks projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Adam Henrique |
Leo Carlsson |
Ryan Strome |
| Frank Vatrano |
Benoit-Olivier Groulx |
Troy Terry |
| Max Jones |
Isac Lundestrom |
Jakob Silfverberg |
| Ross Johnston |
Sam Carrick |
Brett Leason |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Cam Fowler |
Ilya Lyubushkin |
| Urho Vaakanainen |
Radko Gudas |
| Jackson LaCombe |
Gustav Lindstrom |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Lukas Dostal |
John Gibson |
