It’s not rare for NHL teams to be secretive during the playoffs, and the Montreal Canadiens are no exception. Patrik Laine was the only Habs player who wasn’t at practice this morning. The organization told the media that he was taking a maintenance day like Josh Anderson often took before the end of the season, the kind that doesn’t rule you out for the game.

Canadiens: Reinforcements On The Way?
Emotional Slafkovsky Spoke To The Press
Canadiens: A Scandal For A Bus Display?

In his post-practice media availability, Martin St-Louis said he couldn’t confirm any lineup change for tonight, that we should expect to see a lot of players taking warmup, and that the decision would come afterwards.

However, TVA Sports’ Jean-Charles Lajoie posted on X that he had confirmation that Arber Xhekaj would be playing tonight. I expect he has sources; when challenged about the affirmation, he stated he wouldn’t have written it if it weren’t true.

The popular TV show host added that Oliver Kapanen “should” be in and that Jayden Struble and Patrik Laine “should” be out. Minutes later, he said that Struble was confirmed as out.

Is he correct? Time will tell. I know everyone will keep a close eye on the warmup to find out. Meanwhile, Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery confirmed that Aliaksei Protas could play tonight. That’s not good news for the Canadiens, who have already had their hands full with the rest of the Caps’ offense.

The game is set for 7:00 PM on Friday, but the team advises fans to get to their seat for 6:50 PM, to ensure they do not miss anything from the pregame opening ceremony. Will they bring back the torch to light up the ice? Will Ginette Reno be back for the anthem? Many questions remain as the hours trickle down to game time…

Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.  

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.