Canadiens Game 67: Primeau Starts, Struble Returns, Dvorak Info

The Montreal Canadiens (25-30-11) are set to face the Calgary Flames (32-29-5) at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

Montreal is coming off a hard-fought overtime loss to their eternal rivals, the Boston Bruins.

Captain Nick Suzuki is the only player who managed to score during the 2-1 loss, a play that was assisted by the youngest player in the lineup, Juraj Slafkovsky.

The Bruins held an edge in shots and scoring chances, but it was still a strong effort by the Canadiens, who are attempting to improve their overall process while still keeping an eye on the draft lottery odds.

The game against the Flames should be a little easier on Martin St-Louis’ troops, as Calgary has undergone its fair share of struggles this season. They currently own the worst powerplay in the league, not to mention a bottom-five team save percentage.

On that note, the Habs cannot afford to take Calgary lightly. They have one of the top penalty kills in the NHL, and the rest of their metrics fall in the middle of the pack, which is more than we can say about the Canadiens.

Sniper Cole Caufield will be looking to find his scoring rhythm. He has not scored since January 25, though it must be said that he has improved several other aspects of his game.

Cayden Primeau is expected to start versus the Flames. He will look to carry the momentum he built during his last start, which included a 41-save shutout over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Michael Pezzetta, Jesse Ylonen, and Johnathan Kovacevic were the extras at practice, which means they will head to the pressbox to watch the game as healthy scratches. Forward Christian Dvorak also took to the ice, indicating his injury is on the mend.

Cayden Primeau doing the starter routine this morning in Calgary. The extras on the ice are Johnathan Kovacevic, Jesse Ylonen, Michael Pezzetta and Christian Dvorak. @CanadiensMTL

— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) March 16, 2024

With Kovacevic slated to be a healthy scratch, expect Jayden Struble to be re-inserted into the lineup.

MUST READ: Reasons Why Canadiens Fans Shouldn’t Worry About Caufield

As for the Flames, they’ve won six of their last 10 games, a much better result compared to what the team produced in the early stretch of the season. They’re still on the outside looking in when it comes to the Western Conference playoff spots, nine points back on the Vegas Golden Knights for the final wildcard spot.

Nazem Kadri leads the charge from an offensive standpoint thanks to his 22 goals and 35 assists in 66 games. Blake Coleman and Yegor Sharangovich are next on the team’s top scorers list, with 50 and 49 points, respectively.

Jonathan Huberdeau, however, continues to disappoint. After scoring 115 points in his last season with the Florida Panthers, Huberdeau only managed to earn 55 points last year, the greatest drop in production in recent NHL history.

This year Huberdeau has managed to score just nine goals and 32 assists in 65 games.

For the view from the other side of the rink make sure to visit our sister site, Calgary Hockey Now.

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

• Carey Price (IR)
• Chris Wideman (IR)
• Kirby Dach (out indefinitely, ACL/MCL)
• Christian Dvorak (day-to-day)

Calgary Flames Injuries

• Andrei Kuzmenko (day-to-day)
• Jacob Markstrom (day-to-day)
• Connor Zary (IR)
• AJ Greer (IR)
• Dillon Dube (IR)

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Calgary Flames Projected Lineup

Huberdeau – Kadri – Pospisil

Mangiapane – Backlund – Coleman

Hunt – Sharangovich – Coronato

Pelletier – Rooney – Duehr

Defence

Kylington – Andersson

Weeger – Miromanov

Okhotyuk – Pachal

Goalie

Wolf

How to Watch