Tanner Pearson will return to the Montreal Canadiens lineup in Vancouver where he played four seasons for the Canucks.
GAME DAY PREVIEW | Montreal Canadiens (25-31-12) vs Vancouver Canucks (43-18-8)
GAME DAY: Montreal Canadiens vs Vancouver CanucksGame Preview
Roster News
Joshua Roy returned to Montreal for further medical tests after injuring his right hand against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. The Canadiens announced that Roy will be out of the lineup indefinitely.
Sam Montembeault (13-12-7 / 3.10 GAA / .905 SV% / 0 SO) is the confirmed starter for Montreal. Montembeault has one win (Arizona Coyotes) in his last nine starts.
Last Game
The Canadiens were pleased with their effort but came up short with Leon Draisaitl scoring the game winner in overtime.
Last game: MTL 2 vs EDM 3 | F/OT
Players to Watch
- Tanner Pearson - Pearson will return to the lineup in place of the injured Joshua Roy. Pearson practiced on the second unit of the power play.
Matchup for Game 69, Away Game 35
Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC. | March 21, 10:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, SNP, ESPN
Pre-Game
Alex Burrows - "It won't be an easy game against the Canucks, they have a very good team. I think we prepared well (on Wednesday) and I hope we will play a big match on Thursday."
Rocket Hockey Report
Projected Canadiens Lineup (subject to change)
Forwards
22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard - 15 Alex Newhook - 40 Joel Armia
11 Brendan Gallagher - 71 Jake Evans - 17 Josh Anderson
55 Michael Pezzetta - 36 Colin White - 70 Tanner Pearson
Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 54 Jordan Harris
21 Kaiden Guhle - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic
72 Arber Xhekaj - 58 David Savard
Goaltenders
Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault
Alternate: 30 Cayden Primeau
Out of the lineup
Scratches: Jesse Ylonen, Jayden Struble
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Christian Dvorak (upper body), Joshua Roy (hand)
Visiting Bench
This is the second and final meeting of the season for the two teams. Vancouver beat Montreal 5-2 on November 12th.
The Canucks have a record of 4-1-0 in their last five games against the Canadiens.
J.T. Miller has recorded 24 points in 34 games against the Canadiens in his career.
Casey DeSmith (9-5-6 / 2.83 GAA / .897 SV% / 1 SO) is the likely starter for the Oilers.
Game Expectations
Nick Suzuki has 13 points in 16 career games against the Canucks. Suzuki leads Montreal with 64 points this season. J.T. Miller is the leading scorer for Vancouver with 89 points.
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