Game 42: Canadiens Honour Subban, Ylonen To Play

The Montreal Canadiens (16-22-3) host the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM ET.

It will be a special night for many Canadiens fans, as the team will honour one of their most exciting defencemen: P.K. Subban.

The exciting blueliner spent parts of seven seasons with the team, earning a Norris Trophy as the best defenceman in the league in 2012-13.

Subban epitomized entertainment, keeping Habs fans on the edge of their seat and opponents at their wit’s end thanks to a rare combination of skill and intensity.

He also showed great respect for the Canadiens’ legacy, engaging with the heroes of the past during events while writing his chapter in the franchise history books on the ice.

https://montreal.nationalhockeynow.com/2023/01/11/montreal-canadiens-by-the-numbers-p-k-subban-legacy-in-montreal-habs/

Subban played three seasons with the Predators after the trade that saw Shea Weber arrive in Montreal, followed by three seasons in a New Jersey Devils uniform.

One of the main reasons why fans gravitated towards the exciting player was his affinity for being true to himself, displaying the type of personality that is few and far between in the NHL.

He also engaged in philanthropic endeavours, committing to raise $10 million for the Montreal Children’s Hospital, billed as “the biggest philanthropic commitment by a sports figure in Canadian history”.

The ceremony to honour Subban will serve as an opportunity to mend the relationship between the fan favourite and the team, seeing as the team pushed for a trade before Subban’s no-movement clause kicked in, a clause they approved in difficult contract negotiations that dragged on uncomfortably.

MUST READ: P.K. Subban Represented The Best Of Canadiens Hockey

It will also serve as a chance for the Canadiens to recoup some of the marketing potential they lost when he left the franchise.

The Predators played in Toronto on Wednesday night, losing 2-1 to the Maple Leafs. Juuse Saros was given the start, which connotes Kevin Lankinen will likely guard the net on Thursday.

There was some good news at the Bell Centre on Thursday morning, as the Canadiens’ best defenceman, Mike Matheson, returned to the ice in a non-contact jersey.

Seeing as Jake Allen is out of the lineup with an upper-body injury (day-to-day), the Canadiens recalled Cayden Primeau from the Laval Rocket. He was spotted leaving the ice first at practice, but it is actually Samuel Montembeault that is expected to start.

Also Primeau is not starting tonight. It’s Montembeault. Hoffman and Pezzetta came off the ice at the same time. MSL was clearly messing with us this morning.

— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) January 12, 2023

Jesse Ylonen will enter the lineup, while both Michael Pezzetta and Mike Hoffman watch from the press box, thus leaving the Canadiens with seven defencemen in the lineup.

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

• Kaiden Guhle (Injured Reserve)
• Brendan Gallagher (Injured Reserve)
• Mike Matheson (Injured Reserve)
• Sean Monahan (Injured Reserve)
• Carey Price (LTIR)
• Paul Byron (LTIR)

Nashville Predators

• Mark Borowiecki (Injured Reserve)
• Cole Smith (DTD)

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Nashville Predators Lineup

Forsberg – Parssinen – Duchene

Jankowski – Glass – Sissons

Niederreiter – Johansen – Granlund

Trenin – Novak – Jeannot

Defence:

McDonagh – Josi

Ekholm – Carrier

Lauzon – Fabbro

Goalies:

Lankinen

Saros

Special Teams

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