Canadiens @ Penguins: Game thread and lines
Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Game 36: Montreal Canadiens @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Penguins region: Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
With the Detroit Red Wings winning earlier today there is no chance for the Montreal Canadiens to occupy the top spot in the Atlantic Division today, and maybe that’s a good thing given how they’ve played the last couple of times that they’ve had that opportunity. What they do have is a shot at claiming a 10th road win to match the total they just achieved last night at home.
Sammy Blais will be a player to watch, and his addition might help avoid what could have been a bit of a letdown after a shutout for Jacob Fowler 24 hours ago. Jakub Dobeš will also be inspired to bring his best to this game after the other rookie in the Habs tandem had such a strong performance, though good play has been the status quo for Dobeš for several weeks now.
Montreal survived one attempt by the Penguins to get Crosby the 1723rd point he needs to tie the franchise all-time scoring mark. Tonight is Pittsburgh’s last home game until December 30, and they would surely love to help their captain reach this milestone in front of the home fans.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #13 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #76 Zachary Bolduc |
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský | #91 Oliver Kapanen | #93 Ivan Demidov |
| #17 Josh Anderson | #62 Owen Beck | #85 Alexandre Texier |
| #27 Sammy Blais | #90 Joe Veleno | #11 Brendan Gallagher |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #8 Mike Matheson | #53 Noah Dobson |
| #48 Lane Hutson | #45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj | #42 Adam Engström |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #75 Jakub Dobeš | #32 Jacob Fowler |
Scratched: Phillip Danault, Jayden Struble
Conditioning loan: Samuel Montembeault
Injured: Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, Kaiden Guhle, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook
Pittsburgh Penguins projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Tommy Novak | Sidney Crosby | Bryan Rust |
| Anthony Mantha | Rickard Rakell | Justin Brazeau |
| Ville Koivunen | Ben Kindel | Rutger McGroarty |
| Connor Dewar | Kevin Hayes | Noel Acciari |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Parker Wotherspoon | Erik Karlsson |
| Brett Kulak | Kris Letang |
| Ryan Shea | Connor Clifton |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Arturs Silovs | Stuart Skinner |
