Canadiens Game 25: More Injury News Ahead of Canucks Game

The Montreal Canadiens (12-11-1) face the Vancouver Canucks (10-12-3) on Monday night at Rogers Arena. The puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 PM ET.

It will be the third game of the Canadiens’ western road trip, which saw the team win a game versus the Calgary Flames they probably should have lost, and lose a game against the Edmonton Oilers they probably should have won.

The Canucks are off to yet another frustrating start to the season, and seem to be stuck in perpetual limbo when it comes to deciding between short-term gains and long-term success.

Elias Pettersson leads all Canucks in scoring with 11 goals and 18 assists in 25 games, followed by Bo Horvat with 19 goals and 7 assists, and J.T. Miller who has scored 11 goals and 14 assists.

Brock Boeser, who was originally supposed to be a healthy scratch on Hockey Fights Cancer night, is among the Canucks players that are frustrated with their current situation, and consequently, has demanded a trade.

Spencer Martin is expected to make a start for the Canucks. His 3.08 goals against average and .901 save percentage is far from ideal, but he’s clearly outshone starter Thatcher Demko, seeing as Demko has allowed almost four goals per game, and has a .883 save percentage.

Coming off an emotional win against the Coyotes, the Canucks are in the midst of a relatively successful run of games, going 6-4-0 in their last 10 games.

Habs Angle

As for the Canadiens, discipline will be in order.

They outshot and outchanced Connor McDavid a 5v5 in their last matchup, but their poor discipline, or rather, their complete lack of discipline, sunk them.

Veterans players, in particular, struggled to lead by example, punctuated by Joel Edmundson’s 5-minute major that eventually led to the downfall of his team.

Rookie Arber Xhekaj will aim to continue to surprise. The undrafted defenceman leads all Canadiens players with four goals and has been one of the most entertaining stories since the start of the season.

David Savard did not participate in practice and will be reevaluated at a later time due to an upper-body injury. He will not play against the Canucks. Brendan Gallagher is slated to miss his third game in a row. His recovery is expected to take at least two weeks.

#Habs Brendan Gallagher's lower-body injury will require him to miss at least 2 weeks of action.

— Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) December 5, 2022

Samuel Montembeault is expected to make the start for the road team.

The defensive setup is yet to be established. We will update the lines once more information is available.

Canadiens Injuries

• David Savard (day-to-day)
• Brendan Gallagher (2 weeks)
• Mike Hoffman (injured reserve)
• Jonathan Drouin (upper-body injury, 4-6 weeks)
• Carey Price (LTIR)
• Paul Byron (LTIR)

Oilers Injuries 

• Dakota Joshua (day-to-day)
• Travis Dermott (IR)
• Tanner Pearson (IR)
• Michael Ferland (IR)
• Tucker Poolman (IR)

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Vancouver Canucks Projected Lineup

Miller – Horvat – Hoglander

Mikheyev – Pettersson – Boeser

Kuzmenko – Dries – Garland

Studnicka – Aman – Lazar

Defence:

Burroughs – Schenn

Ekman Larsson – Bear

Stillman – Myers

Goalies:

Martin

Demko

Special Teams

Game Notes:

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