Canadiens Game 11: Edmundson Returns, Wideman Sits

The Montreal Canadiens (5-5-0) face the Winnipeg Jets (5-3-1) Thursday night at the Canada Life Centre . The puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM CDT (8 PM EST).

The Canadiens’ lineup will be a little different than in previous games with the return of stalwart defender Joel Edmundson. At practice he took Chris Wideman’s spot in the lineup.

Joel Edmundson taking Chris Wideman’s spot as Arber Xhekaj’s defence partner at #Habs morning skate #HabsIO

— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) November 3, 2022

The Canadiens currently find themselves in a little bit of a roster crunch, as they have too many healthy players, which means there will likely be movement in the late afternoon.

Nick Suzuki will attempt to maintain his fantastic scoring pace this season, which currently sits at over a point per game, with 5 goals and 6 assists in 10 games.

Secondary scoring will be in order, as head coach Martin St-Louis has relied primarily on his first line to provide the vast majority of the scoring for the Canadiens.

However, it should be noted since Kirby Dach was added to the top line, the underlying numbers indicate they’re primed to sustain a borderline elite level of offence throughout the year.

But one functional line is not enough.

Players such as Sean Monahan, Jonathan Drouin, Joel Armia, and Brendan Gallagher must provide offensive support on a regular basis if the Canadiens are to continue to defy the odds by maintaining a .500 record.

Mike Hoffman, Evgeni Dadonov, and Michael Pezzetta are slated to be healthy scratches.

The Jets currently sit in a playoff position, but surprisingly, their leading scorer is defenceman Josh Morrissey, who has 8 assists in 9 games. Blake Wheeler is the Jets top forward, having scored 2 goals and 5 assists since the start of the season.

Connor Hellebuyck is up to his old tricks, holding the fort with a 0.931 save percentage, one of the better save percentages among starts in the NHL, and coincidentally, the exact same save percentage as Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault, who will get the start tonight against Winnipeg.

The Jets have only managed to control a little over 46 percent of the shots this season, placing them 24th overall in the NHL in that regard. Their expected goals share is even worse, at 42.6 percent, the third-worst results in the league.

The Canadiens have fared a little better in both statistical categories, with 49.6 percent of the shot share (19th in the NHL) and 46.1 percent of the expected goals (46.1 percent)

Canadiens

• Emil Heineman (IR)
• Mike Matheson (abdominal muscle strain, 6-8 weeks)

Wild

• Nikolaj Ehlers (lower body, 1 week)
• Logan Stanley (foot, 2 weeks)

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lines

Winnipeg Jets Projected Lines:

Connor- Scheifele – Appleton

Perfetti – Dubois – Wheeler

Barron – Lowry – Gagner

Jonsson-Fjallby – Gustafsson – Maenalanen

Defence:

Morrissey – Pionk

Dillon – Schmidt

Samberg – Demello

Goalies:

Hellebuyck

Rittich

Special Teams

Montreal Canadiens Game Notes:

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