With Christian Dvorak sidelined by injury, the Montreal Canadiens will ice seven defensemen against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
GAME DAY PREVIEW | Montreal Canadiens (15-15-5) vs Tampa Bay Lightning (17-15-5)
Game Preview
Roster News
Christian Dvorak is injured and will not play. Johnathan Kovacevic returns to the lineup. The Canadiens will ice 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Sam Montembeault (7-4-3 / 2.86 GAA / .907 SV%) is the confirmed starter for Montreal.
Last Game
The Florida Panthers stifled the Canadiens offense and exploited the Montreal penalty kill for their sixth straight win over the Habs.
Last game: MTL 1 vs FLA 4 | F
Players to Watch
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Matchup for Game 36, Away Game 18
Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL. | December 31, 7:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, ESPN
Pre-Game
Martin St. Louis
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Projected Canadiens Lineup (subject to change)
Forwards
22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
91 Sean Monahan - 71 Jake Evans - 17 Josh Anderson
40 Joel Armia - 11 Brendan Gallagher
55 Michael Pezzetta - 13 Mitchell Stephens - 56 Jesse Ylonen
Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 58 David Savard
21 Kaiden Guhle - 52 Justin Barron
47 Jayden Struble - 54 Jordan Harris
26 Johnathan Kovacevic
Goaltenders
Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault (7-4-3 / 2.86 GAA / .907 SV%)
Alternate: 34 Jake Allen
Out of the lineup
Scratches: Gustav Lindstrom, Cayden Primeau
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (lower body), Alex Newhook (lower body), Tanner Pearson (upper body), Christian Dvorak (upper body)
Visiting Bench
In their only other meeting this season, the Lightning beat the Canadiens 5-3 on November 7th at the Bell Centre.
Brayden Point has earned points in four straight games against Montreal.
Victor Hedman has 47 points in 45 career games versus the Canadiens.
Jonas Johansson (8-6-5 / 3.47 GAA / .891 SV%) is the expected starter for the Lightning.
Game Expectations
The Canadiens will continue their four game road trip in Florida. The Lightning are playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing 5-1 to the New York Rangers on Saturday night.
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