The Canadiens Start A Home And Home VS. Penguins Tonight
The Montreal Canadiens (18-12-4) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (14-10-9) will start their back-to-back weekend games against each other tonight at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens are coming off a big win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, but they haven’t been able to string together two wins in a row since beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout two Saturdays ago. Meanwhile, the Penguins have been struggling massively and are on a 7-game losing streak, which includes losing to the Habs 4-2 last Thursday. They will be hungry to put their losing streak to an end once and for all.
Team rosters and stats ahead of tonight's game between the Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., SNE, City, TVA Sports). #Habs said last night they're not sure when Phillip Danault, acquired in trade with L.A. Kings, will join the Canadiens: pic.twitter.com/LtXs2nhXON
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) December 20, 2025
The Habs announced earlier today that defenseman Matheson will be returning to the lineup in place of Jayden Struble after missing two games with an upper-body injury. During those two games, the Canadiens missed Matheson’s two-way presence as they had to figure out how to adjust without their ice time leader. It worked well last game against the Blackhawks, who were without their star player, but Tuesday’s matchup was filled with instability on defence that having Matheson on their backend would have surely helped.
#Habs Mike Matheson IN / Jayden Struble OUT
Jacob Fowler will get the start tonight vs the #LetsGoPens— Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) December 20, 2025
Given how Matheson is just getting back in the lineup after recovering from injury, it will be interesting to see if Martin St. Louis will play Matheson his usual 24-25 minutes a night against the Penguins, or if his ice time will be scaled back a bit. Lane Hutson has proven he can play big minutes as well on the left side, so it’s possible he can take some of those minutes off Matheson.
After getting the win in his first NHL game against the Penguins, Jacob Fowler will get the start for the first half of the back-to-back. However, since that game, he has run into some challenges at the NHL level, such as giving up the puck to the Flyers behind the net, which resulted in a goal during Tuesday’s 4-1 loss. With that being said, Fowler will be looking to have a great start tonight to prove that he can play regularly at the NHL level already in his young career. Through 3 NHL games, Fowler has a 1-1-1 record with a 3.32 GAA and .884 save percentage. Just like how he got his first NHL win against the Penguins, the rookie netminder will be looking to get his first victory at the Bell Centre against them tonight.
Stuart Skinner vs @CanadiensMTL @penguins @TVASports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) December 20, 2025
At the other end, the Penguins are expected to have Stuart Skinner in goal for them against the Habs. Since being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers last Friday, Skinner has only played one game, where he allowed 5 goals on 22 shots against his old team in a 6-4 loss. As for the whole season, Skinner has an 11-9-4 record with an .886 save percentage and a 2.93 GAA. He will be looking to make a good impression on his team, but he’s been known to have many inconsistent performances in the NHL throughout his career.
Les Canadiens ont cédé l'attaquant Jared Davidson au Rocket de Laval.
The Canadiens have loaned forward Jared Davidson to the Laval Rocket. pic.twitter.com/FkpihBxDM9
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 20, 2025
Earlier this morning the Canadiens announced that forward Jared Davidson had been returned to the Laval Rocket to make room for the acquisition of Phillip Danault. The Habs also put Kaiden Guhle and Kirby Dach on LTIR for the time being to get under the salary cap while they wait for their return. Hughes also mentioned the plan for Danault is that he is only expected to join the team in Boston after the weekend. With that being said, we won’t see his return in a Habs jersey tomorrow in Pittsburgh.
The plan is for Phil Danault to join the Canadiens in Boston, according to Kent Hughes.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) December 20, 2025
Since both goalies have had ups and downs as of late, the Over 6.5 Goals is looking like a solid bet ahead of tonight’s game. The Habs are also listed as -135 home favourites, hoping to continue the success they had against the Penguins from last Thursday. Lane Hutson has recorded 2+ assists in 4 of his last 5 games, with 9 helpers in that span. He is listed at -120 to get 1 assist and +300 to record 2+ assists. Betting on Hutson getting more than 1 assist could be a very good value bet tonight.
The Habs will be looking to build off the momentum from their victory against the Blackhawks and their last meeting vs. the Penguins tonight, but their inconsistencies at home this season could be their biggest challenge.
Do you think the Canadiens will come out on top tonight, or will their home struggles get in the way?
