Canadiens @ Canucks: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

Game 69: Montreal Canadiens @ Vancouver Canucks

Start time: **10:00 PM EDT / 7:00 PM PDT**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Canucks region: Sportsnet Pacific
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+

The Canadiens will have their final 10 PM Eastern start of the season when they visit the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place, with a couple of 9 PM games on the return trip home to complete their matches versus the Western Conference this season.

Vancouver is the top team in the West, but has a group of teams that loaded up at the trade deadline charging toward the front of the pack. The Canucks were actually the first team to make moves this season attempting to get the jump on their opposition, but acquiring the player who was thought to be the best piece available, Elias Lindholm, hasn’t worked out as anticipated. Not only does he have just seven points in 20 games, but is second-worst on the team at a -7. Fortunately for them, Lindholm was just a desired add rather than a necessary one, and all the stars that were originally in place, like J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes, continue to produce.

Montreal is down a key forward as it tries to match another great team, as Joshua Roy is out with a fractured hand. That means Tanner Pearson is back in the lineup, facing the club that traded him away before the season to acquire Casey DeSmith, who just happens to be Vancouver’s current starter with Thatcher Demko injured. Both of those players will feel motivated to put in good efforts for their teams in roles elevated from what they’ve grown used to this year.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Injured: Kirby Dach, Christian Dvorak, Joshua Roy, Chris Wideman
Scratched: Jayden Struble, Jesse Ylönen

Vancouver Canucks projected lineup