Canadiens vs. Flames: Game thread and lines
Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Game 43: Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames
Start time: 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST
In Canada: Sportsnet (English)
In the Canadiens region: RDS (French)
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, Sportsnet+
The Montreal Canadiens return home to play a game at the Bell Centre for the first time in 18 days. When the Habs left for Pittsburgh after the match on December 20, they were one point up on the first team sitting outside of the wild-card race. Now, after seven games that saw them go 4-1-2 versus some tough teams, that edge has grown to four as they start to separate from the pack as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Another test of that new standing comes tomorrow versus the Florida Panthers. Today, however, it’s the Calgary Flames in town, and this start will go to Jacob Fowler as Martin St-Louis taps his youngest goaltender to get the first home start of 2026.
Calgary ended a five-game post-Christmas homestand with a couple of losses to undo their effort to get back to .500 before the new year. Struggling to find consistency, they will try to turn things around in Montreal to kick off a five-game road trip. They will be eager to get back in the win column, and the Canadiens will need to be prepared.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský | #91 Oliver Kapanen | #93 Ivan Demidov |
| #13 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #85 Alexandre Texier |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc | #24 Phillip Danault | #11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #27 Sammy Blais | #90 Joe Veleno | #62 Owen Beck |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #8 Mike Matheson | #53 Noah Dobson |
| #48 Lane Hutson | #45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj | #47 Jayden Struble |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #32 Jacob Fowler | #75 Jakub Dobeš |
Scratched: Adam Engström, Samuel Montembeault
Injured: Josh Anderson, Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, Kaiden Guhle, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook
Calgary Flames projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Joel Farabee | Nazem Kadri | Yegor Sharangovich |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Morgan Frost | Adam Klapka |
| Blake Coleman | Mikael Baklund | Matt Coronato |
| Ryan Lomberg | Connor Zary | William Stromgren |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Kevin Bahl | Rasmus Andersson |
| Yan Kuznetsov | MacKenzie Weegar |
| Joel Hanley | Hunter Brzustewicz |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Dustin Wolf | Devin Cooley |
