Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs: Game Thread
Two teams that are lucky to be in the Eastern Conference meet tonight, who will prevail?
It's hockey day in Canada. Montreal and Toronto take center stage as they write another chapter in their longstanding rivalry.
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Both teams have been mediocre in their last 10, the Habs going 5-3-2 and the Leafs going 6-4-0 thanks to the shootout.
The last time these two met Montreal won the game 4-2, however Toronto won the opening game of the season by a score of 4-3.
Unfortunately David Clarkson will not be dressed tonight for the Leafs, which is bad news for the Canadiens.
As for the lineup changes on Montreal's side, Nathan Beaulieu will play instead of Raphael Diaz, and struggling winger Rene Bourque will be left aside as newly recalled Joonas Nattinen will slot into the 4th line role.
What should we expect from Nattinen?
Habs' Joonas Nattinen on what he expects in his NHL debut tonight: "Hat trick."
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) January 18, 2014 Jonathan Bernier will attempt to win his first game of his career vs Montreal and start to validate Toronto's decision to add a goaltender this off-season, rather than bolstering their defence.
Puck drop is at 7:00 PM at the Air Canada Centre.
Here are your projected lineups:
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Lars Eller | Tomas Plekanec | Brian Gionta |
| Max Pacioretty | David Desharnais | Brendan Gallagher |
| Michael Bournival | Daniel Briere | Brandon Prust |
| Travis Moen | Joonas Nattinen | George Parros |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Josh Gorges | P.K. Subban |
| Andrei Markov | Alexei Emelin |
| Francis Bouillon | Nathan Beaulieu |
| Goaltenders |
| Carey Price |
| Peter Budaj |
Scratches: Rene Bourque, Raphael Diaz, Douglas Murray.
Injuries: Davis Drewiske (shoulder surgery, practicing), Alex Galchenyuk (wrist, 4-6 weeks), Ryan White (shoulder, 1-2 weeks).
As for the Toronto Maple Leafs:
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| James van Riemsdyk | Tyler Bozak | Phil Kessel |
| Mason Raymond | Nazem Kadri | Joffrey Lupul |
| Nikolai Kulemin | Peter Holland | Carter Ashton |
| Troy Bodie | Jay McClement | Hodorr |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Carl Gunnarsson | Dion Phaneuf |
| Cody Franson | Tim Gleason |
| Jake Gardiner | Morgan Rielly |
| Goaltenders |
| Jonathan Bernier |
| James Reimer |
Injuries: David Clarkson (elbow), Frazer McLaren (shoulder), David Bolland (ankle) and Trevor Smith (hand).
Check out the opposing side at Pension Plan Puppets.
