Canadiens Preview And Lines: Joshua Roy Season Debut

The Montreal Canadiens (7-11-2) are set to host the Utah Hockey Club (8-10-3) at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

The mood soured considerably in the Canadiens’ locker room following their 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, erasing all the momentum the team had created in the past two weeks. Consequently, head coach Martin St-Louis decided to mix things up at practice on Monday, placing both Juraj Slafovsky and Kirby Dach on the fourth line.

The Canadiens also recalled Joshua Roy from the AHL, where he maintained close to a point-per-game pace during his 17 games with the Laval Rocket.

It remains to be seen whether the new lineup will stay in place during the entire game, but one thing is for certain, the head coach wants to see more from the players who have struggled to find their rhythm this season.

Habs coach Marty St. Louis today on Kirby Dach’s struggles this season:

“I think it’s a combination of things. The injury is definitely part of it. I think now you accumulate that with not the start that he was hoping for. So there was a physical, mental aspect. Now there is a… pic.twitter.com/i0XANjhOYY

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) November 26, 2024

Goaltender Samuel Montembeault will face Utah, while backup Cayden Primeau plays against Wednesday’s opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On Topic: Message Sent: Canadiens Run New Lines, Demote Top Players

As for Utah, they’re coming off a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs that featured two points for Logan Cooley, a player who was drafted shortly after the Canadians called Slafkovsky’s name at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

With four goals and 12 assists in 21 games, Cooley is on pace to eclipse his solid rookie season. The second-line centre is currently third in team scoring, behind Clayton Keller (19) and Dylan Guenther (18).

The Utah lineup also includes a former Hab, defenceman Mikhail Sergachev, who was traded to the new organization this summer. The change in employer seems to have paid off for the 26-year-old, as he leads the team in defenceman scoring, with five goals and nine assists. He’s also in the midst of producing the best underlying numbers of his career.

If Sergachev maintains his current scoring pace, he will finish the season with an impressive 20 goals and 35 assists.

Projected Montreal Canadiens Lineup

Projected Utah Hockey Club Lineup

Keller – Hayton – Schmaltz

McBain – Cooley – Guenther

Maccelli – Bjugstad – Crouse

Kerfoot – Stenlund – Carcone

Sergachev – Maatta

Cole – Lamoureux

Kesselring – Kolyachonok

Vejmelka

How to Watch The Montreal Canadiens vs. The Utah Hockey Club, Tuesday, November 26, 2024.

Game 21 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.