Excerpt from 'Habs Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on the need for the three-goaltender rotation to end. GAME DAY PREVIEW | MONTREAL CANADIENS (15-15-5) VS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (17-15-5) Game Day: Montreal Canadiens vs Tampa Bay Lightning. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyMDQ4NTY0NDU5NzQyODMz/tampa-bay.png] Game Day: Montreal Canadiens vs Tampa Bay Lightning. 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 * undefined * undefined 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 * undefined 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. Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal [https://thn.com/montreal] for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world. Gretzky Signature Series. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNzAzMjM2NzQxMTEzNjIw/gretzky-northland.jpg] Gretzky Signature Series.
