Canadiens Pre Game

Canadiens Game 71: Gallagher & Dach Return, Lines Shuffled

Published

1 year ago

March 21, 2023

The Montreal Canadiens (27-37-6) will look to get immediate revenge on the Tampa Bay Lightning (42-23-6) on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre. The puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

The Canadiens will look to get right back into the win column as they host the Lightning in the second leg of a home-and-home series with their hated divisional rival.

On the Mend

The Canadiens are finally starting to get some good news on the injury front, as Brendan Gallagher, who has been out with an injury since January, was back on the ice at practice in a full-contact sweater.

Kirby Dach was also back at practice, sporting a full-contact jersey and moving quite well on the ice.

Both are expected to play tonight, with Dach lining up on Nick Suzuki’s wing alongside Rafaël Harvey-Pinard.

Meanwhile, Gallagher was seen lining up with Alex Belzile and Mike Hoffman on the Canadiens’ third line.

Anthony Richard and Jesse Ylönen were the extras at practice.

Dach (en vidéo de qualité) aussi en chandail normal 🔵⚪️🔴 pic.twitter.com/VHtm8EL5UO

— Marc-André Perreault (@MA_PerreaultTVA) March 21, 2023

Jordan Harris also joined the Canadiens for practice for the first time since his lower-body injury, but he was wearing a non-contact jersey. Jake Evans was also at practice in a non-contact jersey; showing positive signs in his eventual return to play.

It’s got to be some good news for a depleted Canadiens, and possibly even for the decimated Laval Rocket.

After dropping Saturday’s game against the Lightning, Samuel Montembeault is going to have the opportunity to exact some revenge.

The 26-year-old goaltender is expected to start his fourth-straight game tonight.

Lightning Strike

The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t back down against the Canadiens, regardless of the score; showing patience and timely opportunism to come out of their game against the Canadiens with the victory.

At the top of that performance was Brandon Hagel, who scored a hattrick against the Canadiens in the Lightning’s 5-3 victory on Saturday.

The scrappy forward is proving to the entire league why general manager Julien Brisebois sacrificed two 1st-round picks for the talented winger; with the 24-year-old registering 27 goals and 59 points in just 71 games this season.

Meanwhile, Nikita Kucherov hit the 100-point mark for the third time in his career on Sunday against the New Jersey Devils.

The skilled Russian has been nothing short of sensational for the Lightning again this season, despite some serious turnover in their lineup.

He’s bounced back in a big way, remaining healthy for the full length of the season and is finally finding his offensive groove yet again; just in time for the playoffs.

After suffering an imposing loss against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, the Lightning will likely be sending Andrei Vasilevski into the fold this time around; as Tampa is reaching must-win territory in their race for home-ice advantage for their inevitable first-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game:

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

Kaiden Guhle (Injured)
Joel Armia (Day-To-Day)
Kirby Dach (Out Indefinitely)
Christian Dvorak (Injured Reserve)
Brendan Gallagher (Injured Reserve)
Jake Evans (Injured Reserve)
Arber Xhekaj (Injured Reserve)
Juraj Slafkovsky (Injured Reserve)
Cole Caufield (Injured Reserve)
Sean Monahan (LTIR)
Carey Price (LTIR)
Paul Byron (LTIR)

Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

Montreal Canadiens Previous Lineup

LW	C	RW
Cole Caufield	Nick Suzuki	Juraj Slafkovsky
Brendan Gallagher	Alex Newhook	Joel Armia
Jesse Ylonen	Jake Evans	Josh Anderson
Michael Pezzetta	Christian Dvorak	Rafael Harvey-Pinard