Game 22: Montreal Canadiens @ Columbus Blue Jackets
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: Sportsnet (English)
In the Canadiens region: RDS (French)
In the Blue Jackets region: Bally Sports Ohio
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, Sportsnet+
The Columbus Blue Jackets have put a few wins together in recent games, with their latest coming over the Boston Bruins. The Blue Jackets should be coming into tonight’s game with a lot of confidence from that 5-2 win, even if the Bruins are suddenly losing more than they’re winning. But perhaps they will be overconfident in their play, just as the Caandiens were after their win over Boston on November 11, following that result up with a four-game losing streak.
Columbus still has a lot of faults despite their recent run, allowing well over 30 shots most games and often surrendering 40-plus. It will be a welcome change for the Canadiens who dealt with a stifling defensive structure on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. There’s a chance to put some goals on the board in this final game of the Canadiens’ road trip.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #35 Alex Newhook |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #22 Cole Caufield |
#28 Christian Dvorak |
#20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #40 Joel Armia |
#91 Sean Monahan |
#17 Josh Anderson |
| #70 Tanner Pearson |
#71 Jake Evans |
#56 Jesse Ylönen |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#52 Justin Barron |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle |
#27 Gustav Lindström |
| #47 Jayden Struble |
#26 Johnny Kovacevic |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #35 Samuel Montembeault |
#34 Jake Allen |
Injured: Kirby Dach, Jordan Harris, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, David Savard, Chris Wideman, Arber Xhekaj
Scratched: Mattias Norlinder, Michael Pezzetta, Cayden Primeau
Columbus Blue Jackets projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Johnny Gaudreau |
Boone Jenner |
Kirill Marchenko |
| Alexandre Texier |
Adam Fantilli |
Patrik Laine |
| Dmitri Voronkov |
Cole Sillinger |
Yegor Chinakov |
| Eric Robinson |
Sean Kuraly |
Justin Danforth |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Zach Werenski |
Adam Boqvist |
| Ivan Provorov |
David Jiricek |
| Jake Bean |
Erik Gudbranson |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
Spencer Martin |
