After Group A started things off on Thursday, Group B had some notable line combinations of their own, and it continued on Friday.
It would be easy to assume that Kirby Dach, Phillip Danault, Alex Newhook, Alexandre Texier, Zachary Bolduc, Josh Anderson, and Jake Evans would be getting NHL reps, but what was maybe unexpected as that Brett Berard and Florian Xhekaj would get looks alongside with them.
Berard and Xhekaj couldn’t be more opposites. Berard being 5’9″, while Xhekaj is 6’3″, but both have NHL aspirations on their radar. Berard has played 48 career NHL games, and the younger Xhekaj had five last season.
The Canadiens have a lot of moving parts in their forward group, and at least one of the players will need to be scratched if everyone was healthy. Berard and Xhekaj seem to have the inside track should an additional body be needed and an opportunity to stake a claim atop that order in the pre-season with some good linemates.
On defence, Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson formed the top pairing, with Adam Engström and David Reinbacher fighting for an NHL spot alongside each other on the second pair.
Samuel Montembeault will have the opportunity to play with this group, as he looks to return to form after a disappointing 2025-26 season.
Group A will play the pre-season game on Saturday at the Bell Centre while Group B will travel to Toronto for the game that night. Of course, these groups may change slightly on Saturday morning as both teams have a morning skate.
