The Canadiens will be back in action tonight at the Bell Centre for the second time in as many nights.
After a winning start to their preseason last night, the Montreal Canadiens will try to keep up their winning ways (and the way they play "their in the game" as coach Martin St-Louis would say).
Patrik Laine and Kirby Dach made their long-awaited return to game action and performed well. Laine launched nine shots towards the net, five of which found their way to the Flyers goalie. Dach was efficient, if less obvious, and St-Louis summed it up with the highest praise by saying, "Dacher is a hockey player."
It was the youngsters who shone the brightest last night, though, as Oliver Kapanen made people wonder if he may just steal a chair from under another player's nice. His linemates Alex Barre-Boulet and Emil Heineman each got a goal and an assist on the night, and their passing made it look as if they had played together for a long time. Can you say instant chemistry?
Lane Hutson shone the brightest on the blueline, but Logan Mailloux had an efficient, even if quiet, game. As for the goalies, Cayden Primeau and Jakub Dobes, they were flawless, sharing the shutout.
The last time the Canadiens met the New Jersey Devils was in February when Montreal dropped a 4-3 decision on the road. So far, Jacob Markstrom's new team has lost its only pre-season game 4-2 to the visiting New York Islanders.
The visitors' lineup for tonight has now been announced, and much like the Flyers yesterday, New Jersey isn't bringing out the big guns. It's worth noting that Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Tomas Tatar, Douggie Hamilton, and Markstrom were all playing on Sunday night, so it would have been surprising to see them skate on the Bell Centre ice tonight.
Here's what their lines looked like at practice, according to Devils beat writer Amanda Stein:
Meaning former Habs Jonathan Kovacevic and Jake Allen will waste no time before facing their former teammates.
Judging by the morning skate, the lineup should look like this for the Canadiens tonight:
Cole Caufield-Nick Suzuki-Juraj Slafkovsky
Joel Armia-Jake Evans-Brendan Gallagher
Sean Farrell-Owen Beck-Filip Mesar
Michael Pezzetta-Florian Xhekaj-Xavier Simoneau
Mike Matheson-David Reinbacher
Jayden Struble-Logan Mailloux
William Trudeau-Zachary Hayes
Samuel Montembeault-Connor Hughes
The puck drops at 7:00 PM ET, and the Canadiens will have a well-deserved day off tomorrow.
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Edit: New Jersey Devils roster is now confirmed