Canadiens Preview And Lines: Struble Watch, Montembeault, RHP

The Montreal Canadiens (2-2-0) are set to host the Los Angeles Kings (1-1-2) on Thursday night. The puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.

The Canadiens came up short on Monday, getting doubled up by the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 6-3. Led by two goals by former Hab Lars Eller, and a three point effort by Evgeni Malkin, it was the Canadiens’ first loss at the Bell Centre this year.

Entering Thursday’s contest versus the Kings, there are several players still riding the hot hand. Despite Cole Caufield seeing his goal-scoring streak end Monday, he still has four goals in four games. His linemate Juraj Slafkovsky finally found the back of the net last game, a power play marker, and now has one goal and three assists this season. As for the defence, we simply can’t exclude rookie defensive standout Lane Hutson, who looks like a veteran out there.

Captain Nick Suzuki had a pair of assists last game, but is yet to score this year, after producing a career-high 33 goals last season.

And finally one collective team stat that’s been hot is that of their special teams. We all know that their power play couldn’t muster anything in the preseason, but so far through four games, they’ve scored in each contest (23.5 percent) – and their penalty kill has been strong as well (92.9 percent), tied for third in the entire NHL.

However, there are still some players who are yet to find their rhythm. Most notably, centre Kirby Dach. The 23-year-old has been held to one assist in four games despite being used on the second line, not to mention his time on ice during the powerplay. Veteran blueliner David Savard, who is set to play in his 800th NHL game, has also had a sluggish start to the season.

Defenceman Jayden Struble will not play, but he was present at the team’s morning skate and took some rushes on the third pairing, rotating with Justin Barron and Arber Xhekaj. Samuel Montembeault will get the start for the Canadiens, while the forward lines will remain intact.

It’s also worth noting forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard took part in a solo skate prior to the team’s main practice.

On Topic: Canadiens Stocks: Gallagher, Hutson, and Special Teams Value

Los Angeles have had quite the tumultuous start to their 2024-25 season.

They dismantled the Buffalo Sabres by a 3-1 margin in their season-opening game, with captain Anzer Kopitar scoring all three goals. They went on to lose back-to-back games in overtime, first 2-1 to the Boston Bruins, and  then a wild 8-7 Monday afternoon affair to the Ottawa Senators. Furthermore, they are playing the second of a back-to-back games, having played in Toronto last night, where they found themselves on the wrong end of a 6-2 score.

The one big question mark for the Kings will be goaltending. Darcy Kuemper, who was acquired in the summer in a one-for-one swap for Pierre-Luc Dubois, suffered a lower body injury in their game against Ottawa, and was out last night. David Rittich allowed four of the goals Wednesday before being replaced by Pheonix Copley, who didn’t fare much better.

The game will be the first time the Canadiens are facing against a Western Conference team. They were 14-14-4 against the West in their 2023-24 campaign, but two of those losses were at the hands of the Kings, who shut the Habs out both times, both via a 4-0 score.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Los Angeles Kings Projected Lineup

Laferriere – Kopitar – Kempe

Jeannot – Danault – Moore

Fiala – Byfield – Foegele

Lee – Turcotte – Lewis

Anderson – Clarke

Gavrikov – Burroughs

Englund – Jones

Copley

Rittich

How to Watch The Montreal Canadiens vs. The Los Angeles Kings October 17, 2024.

Game 5 of the regular season will be aired on TSN2 and RDS. Once the game is over, an instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Montreal Hockey Now.