Habs @ Canucks: Game thread

Dec 6, 2022 - 2:30 AM

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Montreal Canadiens @ Vancouver Canucks

How to watch

Start time: **10:30 PM EST / 7:30 PM PST**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Canucks region: Sportsnet Pacific

An upper-body injury for David Savard has him out for tonight’s game versus the Vancouver Canucks, allowing Jordan Harris to draw back in and play on a pairing with Arber Xhekaj. Xhekaj played very well on Saturday versus the Edmonton Oilers with one of the best scoring-chance shares on the team and scoring a power-play goal besides, and Martin St-Louis is hoping this rookie pairing can give him good minutes versus the shallow depth of the Canucks.

The picture at forward remains the same with no changes from the previous match. This formation may be staying in place for some time because Brendan Gallagher is a few weeks away from a return, and there are currently no replacements on the active roster. It was working well enough at even strength on Saturday, and should be able to hold its own versus the Canucks.

Samuel Montembeault gets the start for the first game of this early-week back-to-back, meaning Jake Allen will be tapped for Tuesday’s game in Seattle. It’s possible the Habs will need a netminder to stand on his head to get a win in the third game in four nights, and Allen proved he could do that in the game versus the Calgary Flames that began this road trip. We’ll know by tomorrow night (or early Wednesday morning for most of us) whether the coach’s strategy worked out.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Scratched: Chris Wideman
Injured: Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, Mike Hoffman, David Savard

Vancouver Canucks projected lineup