Two weeks ago, the Montreal Canadiens took on the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre, and the locals netted a 5-2 win in which Jakub Dobes found his confidence back. While the Canadiens were without Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle, the Leafs were without two-thirds of their first line, as captain Auston Matthews and Matthews Knies were sidelined, along with defensemen Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev and goaltender Anthony Stolarz.

The Habs took a 4-0 lead and forced Craig Berube to pull his starter, Joseph Woll, and replace him with Dennis Hildeby. From there on, the Leafs put on more of a fight, but the Canadiens still skated away with the two points thanks to a 5-2 win. On Saturday night, in Toronto, the Habs, who have not welcomed back any of their injured players, will be taking on a more complete Leafs team, with Matthews and Knies back. Still, goaltender Woll is doubtful after exiting Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury, which is bad news for a Toronto outfit that has won its last three games.

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For the Canadiens, coach Martin St-Louis has confirmed that Dobes will be in net, the right decision given how the youngster has played lately and how shaken Samuel Montembeault still looks. Furthermore, Dobes has a 1-0-1 record against Toronto with a 1.51 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage. Meanwhile, Montembeault is 3-7-0 against the host with a 3.80 GAA and a .891 SV.

While it hasn’t been confirmed yet, it looks likely that Hildeby will be in the net for the locals. He only faced the Habs once, when he came in relief for Woll during the last duel, stopping the three shots he faced in his nearly 25 minutes of action. As for Woll, he’s 3-1-0 against Montreal with a 2.54 GAA and a .919 SV.

Tonight’s tilt will be the third of four duels between the two sides this season. Each team has won once, by identical scores of 5-2. Toronto is 5-3-2 in its last 10 games and is on a three-game winning streak. As for the Habs, they are 4-5-1 and have won their previous match 3-2 in the shootout against the Winnipeg Jets.

Up front, the Canadiens will need to keep a close eye on Auston Matthews, not only does he have 47 points in 38 games against the Habs, but he’s also on a four-game point streak. Only John Tavares has more points against Montreal, with 54 points in 61 games. William Nylander, who had two points in the last duel, has 37 points in 38 games, completing the top three, but Morgan Reilly isn’t far behind with 31 points in 52 games.

Meanwhile, the Leafs will need to find a way to stop Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. The former is on a seven-game point streak and has put up 10 points in that span, while the latter has a nine-game point streak and has put up 11 points over that sequence. The Habs captain has 23 points in 30 duels against the old enemy, while the sniper has 14 points in 18 tilts. Brendan Gallagher remains the Canadiens’ most productive player against the hosts, though, with 24 points in 49 games.

Toronto has won eight of the last 10 games between the two sides. But the Canadiens haven’t won at Scotiabank Arena since February 2021, when the teams faced each other 10 times in the season, thanks to the COVID-19-prompted Canadian division. To say that Montreal is overdue for a win in Toronto would be an understatement.

The game is set for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on CBC Sportsnet East, West, and Pacific. The Canadiens will fly back to Montreal right after the game, as they take on the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night at the Bell Centre.

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