Canadiens Pre Game
Canadiens Preview And Lines: Arber Xhekaj Returns To Lineup
The Montreal Canadiens (2-4-1) are set to host the St. Louis Blues (5-3-0) on Saturday night, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.
Martin St-Louis’ team is looking to bounce back from a demoralizing loss against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. The Rangers scored seven goals on their way to a one-sided win, though it should be noted Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki scored twice in Montreal’s 7-2 loss. The two-point effort pushed his season totals to seven points (2G, 5A) in seven games.
Given the lack of pushback against the Rangers and the injury to Justin Barron, the Canadiens have decided to bring Arber Xhekaj back into the fold. At the very least, he’s guaranteed to respond to physical play, but he’s also one of their best defencemen when it comes to his impact on puck control.
Last season, Jordan Harris, Jonathan Kovacevic, Joshua Roy, and Xhekaj maintained some of the best underlying numbers in the organization, and as it stands, the Canadiens have controlled a lower share of shots (39.9%) than any other team in the NHL. Simply put, they can’t afford to keep players who maintain decent possession numbers out of the lineup. The new defensive pairings will be updated once the pre-game warm up takes place.
Other than Xhekaj, the Canadiens are not expected to make another roster change, with goaltender Samuel Montembeault serving as the team’s starter.
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The Blues are off to a solid start to the year, and are coming off a 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. The Leafs out shot the Blues 41-27, but Jordan Binnington made 40 saves to secure the win.
Jordan Kyrou leads the Blues in scoring, with two goals and seven assists in eight games, however, Montreal will have to pay close to attention to Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich, Dylan Holloway, and Jake Neighbours if they want to give themselves a reasonable chance to emerge with a much-needed win.
Projected Montreal Canadiens Lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Cole Caufield | Nick Suzuki | Juraj Slafkovsky |
| Alex Newhook | Oliver Kapanen | Ivan Demidov |
| Zachary Bolduc | Owen Beck | Owen Beck |
| Josh Anderson | Jake Evans | Brendan Gallagher |
| Mike Matheson | Noah Dobson |
| Jayden Struble | Lane Hutson |
| Arber Xhekaj | Alex Carrier |
| Samuel Montembeault |
| Jakub Dobes |
St. Louis Blues Projected Lineup
Saad – Schenn – Neighbours
Texier – Buchnevich – Kyrou
Joseph – Holloway – Kapanen
Toropchenko – Faksa – Sundqvist
Suter – Parayko
Broberg – Faulk
Joseph – Perunovich
Binnington
How to Watch The Montreal Canadiens vs. The St. Louis Blues, October 26, 2024
Game 8 of the regular season will be aired on City TV, Sportsnet East, TVA Sports. Once the game is over, an instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Montreal Hockey Now.
