The Bell Centre plays host to the second of a back-to-back preseason series on Saturday night, when the Toronto Maple Leafs return for a rematch.
GAME DAY PREVIEW | Toronto Maple Leafs vs Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple LeafsGame Preview
Roster News
- We can likely expect a large round of roster cuts to come after tonight's game against Toronto. The Laval Rocket are set to begin their training camp on Monday, and with only two preseason games remaining next week, the Habs will need to reduce their numbers substantially.
Last Game
On Friday night, the Canadiens played their first exhibition game of the season against the Maple Leafs. Despite facing a roster of mostly AHL talent, Montreal couldn't get a puck past goaltender Ilya Samsonov. When Keith Petruzzelli came into the game for the final period, however, Josh Anderson got the Habs on the board.
Last game: MTL 1 TOR 2
For a complete game recap: Poor Execution, Few Positives | RECAP: TOR @ MTL
Players to Watch
- Alex Newhook - After Sean Monahan had an audition on the top line Wednesday night, it's newly-acquired Newhook's turn with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.
- Riley Kidney - The 5-foot-11-inch forward, drafted 31st overall by Montreal in 2021, makes his preseason debut.
- Justin Barron - With cuts coming, the young defenseman could be facing his final opportunity to make an impression on his coaches and management.
Matchup for Preseason Game 2
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC | September 30, 7:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, TSN4, RDS, NHLN
Pre-Game
Emil Heineman
"I feel like I've been working hard every day, for sure. It's the little details. I feel like I want to create more, that's mostly it...Create more from the inside, get more to the tough areas."
Projected Canadiens Lineup (subject to change)
Forwards
22 Cole Caufield 14 Nick Suzuki 15 Alex Newhook
49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard 77 Kirby Dach 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
24 Lias Andersson 86 Riley Kidney 51 Emil Heineman
55 Michael Pezzetta 61 Philippe Maillet 57 Sean Farrell
Defensemen
21 Kaiden Guhle 64 David Reinbacher
84 William Trudeau 26 Jonathan Kovacevic
59 Mattias Norlinder 52 Justin Barron
Goaltenders
Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault
Alternate: 74 Jakub Dobes
Out of the lineup:
Scratches: Josh Anderson, Joel Armia, Owen Beck, Gabriel Bourque, Lucas Condotta, Jared Davidson, Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher, Nathan Legare, Riley McKay, Filip Mesar, Sean Monahan, Jan Mysak, Jakov Novak, Tanner Pearson, Joshua Roy, Xavier Simoneau, Ty Smilanic, Mitchell Stephens, Alex-Olivier Voyer, Nolan Yaremko, Jesse Ylonen, Nicolas Beaudin, Tobie Bisson, Stanislav Demin, Olivier Galipeau, Jordan Harris, Brady Keeper, Noah Laaouan, Gustav Lindstrom, Logan Mailloux, Mike Matheson, Christopher Ortiz, John Parker-Jones, David Savard, Jayden Struble, Miguel Tourigny, Arber Xhekaj, Jake Allen, Cayden Primeau
Injuries: Christian Dvorak (lower body), Carey Price (lower body), Chris Wideman (upper body)
Visiting Bench
The Maple Leafs will bring another lineup heavily loaded with players likely bound for the AHL as they look to sweep the weekend series on Montreal's home ice. Noah Gregor, TJ Brodie, Jake McCabe, and Morgan Reilly comprise most of the NHL talent the Canadiens will face on Saturday night. Toronto's Dennis Hildeby and Martin Jones are slated to guard the net.