Canadiens Pre Game

Game 51: Allen Starts, Retro Reverse, 11 Forwards, 7 Defencemen

Published

2 years ago

January 31, 2023

The Montreal Canadiens (20-26-4) host the Ottawa Senators (23-23-3) at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM ET.

It will be the Canadiens’ last game before the All-Star game, and their final game before an extended break in February. Their next game is scheduled for Feb.11, against the New York Islanders.

The Senators and Canadiens clashed on Saturday, with Ottawa earning a one-sided 5-0 win over a listless Canadiens team that featured a balanced lineup with 12 forwards and six defencemen for the first time in a week.

It seems as if the balanced lineup will only last one game, as the Canadiens returned forward Owen Beck to the CHL following his NHL debut against the Senators.

Consequently, it appears as if head coach Martin St-Louis will return to a lineup featuring just 11 forwards and seven defencemen.

Forwards Kirby Dach, Evgenii Dadonov, and Christian Dvorak were spotted at practice, an encouraging sign given they were kept off the ice on Monday. They’re among the many Canadiens players that are assumed to be slightly injured at the moment, but seeing as the team has run out of warm bodies, there seems to be no rest in store for the tired masses.

Jake Allen will start for the Habs, his 29th game of the season.

L'entraîneur-chef Martin St-Louis confirme que Jake Allen obtiendra le départ devant le filet demain soir contre Ottawa.

Head coach Martin St-Louis confirmed that Jake Allen will start on Tuesday night against Ottawa.#GoHabsGo

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 30, 2023

The Senators, who have won both meetings between the rivals this season, are aiming to win their fourth game in a row and will look to Claude Giroux to get it done. The former Flyers captain has four goals and four assists in his last five games.

They have struggled to score this season, but overall the Senators are showing signs they should probably be a lot higher in the standings. Not only do they have excellent special teams, but they’re also among the top 10 teams in the league in shot control, as well as a top-15 team in expected goals.

Seeing as the Canadiens are set to wear their lucky Retro Reverse jerseys, the smart money is on yet another loss for St-Louis’ team. The marketing ploy gone wrong has led to a terrible record for the Canadiens, who are yet to earn a regulation win wearing the new threads (0-5-1).

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

Kaiden Guhle (Injured Reserve)
Brendan Gallagher (Injured Reserve)
Joel Armia (Injured Reserve)
Jake Evans (Injured Reserve)
Juraj Slafkovsky (Injured Reserve)
Jonathan Drouin (Injured Reserve)
Cole Caufield (Injured Reserve)
Sean Monahan (LTIR)
Carey Price (LTIR)
Paul Byron (LTIR)

Ottawa Senators Injuries

Tyler Motte (Injured Reserve)
Rourke Chartier (Injured Reserve)
Artem Zub (Injured Reserve)
Josh Norris(Injured Reserve)
Cam Talbot (Injured Reserve)

Montreal Canadiens Previous Lineup


Cole Caufield	Nick Suzuki	Kirby Dach
Alex Newhook	Jake Evans	Juraj Slafkovsky
Brendan Gallagher	Christian Dvorak	Josh Anderson
Emil Heineman	Oliver Kapanen	Joel Armia