Canadiens Pre Game
Canadiens Preview & Lines: Montembeault Faces High-Flying Wild
The Montreal Canadiens (5-9-2) are set to play the Minnesota Wild (10-2-3) on Thursday night, with the puck drop scheduled for 8 pm ET.
The Canadiens were finally able to snap their six game winless streak against the Buffalo Sabres, a wild 7-5 win on Monday afternoon. Cole Caufield and captain Nick Suzuki each had a pair of goals in the victory. Suzuki scored two goals 22 seconds apart in the last minute of the second period, not to mention a pair of assists during the game, making it his second career four-point game.
In between the pipes the Habs will use their starter Sam Montembeault, who last took to the ice on Monday when he relieved Cayden Primeau early in the third period. He stopped all four shots he faced, and earned his fourth win of the season.
The Canadiens held an optional skate on Thursday, and are not expected to make any roster changes as they attempt to win their first game in Minnesota since 2011.
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As for the Wild, they’ll rely on starter Filip Gutsavsson versus the Habs. The 26-year-old Swede is currently tied for third in the league with seven wins, and looks well on his way to surpass his career high of 22, set in 2022-23. He also became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal when he accomplished the feat October 15, also against St. Louis.
Minnesota has been near the top of the leaderboard all season, and currently second in the Western Conference. With a balanced attack, they are getting a lot of their offence from standout players like Kirill Kaprizov, who currently has nine goals and 19 assists, good for second in league scoring behind only Nathan MacKinnon.
The Wild are coming in to tonight’s game well rested, having been off since Sunday afternoon, when they lost 2-1 in overtime to the Chicago Blackhawks. Prior to that matchup, they had won five of their last six.
Projected Montreal Canadiens Lineup
| Cole Caufield | Nick Suzuki | Juraj Slafkovsky |
| Joshua Roy | Alex Newhook | Patrik Laine |
| Brendan Gallagher | Christian Dvorak | Josh Anderson |
| Emil Heineman | Jake Evans | Joel Armia |
| Mike Matheson | Alexandre Carrier |
| Jayden Struble | Lane Hutson |
| Arber Xhekaj | David Savard |
| Samuel Montembeault |
| Jakub Dobes |
Projected Minnesota Wild Lineup
Kaprizov – Rossi – Zuccarello
Johansson – Eriksson Ek – Boldy
Foligno – Gaudreau – Hartman
Lauko – Khusnutdinov – Trenin
Brodin – Spurgeon
Middleton – Faber
Merrill – Bogosian
Gustavsson
How to Watch The Montreal Canadiens vs. The Minnesota Wild, Thursday, November 14, 2024.
Game 17 of the regular season will be aired on RDS and TSN2. Once the game is over, an instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Montreal Hockey Now.
