Canadiens Preview And Lines: Jakub Dobes Expected To Start

The Montreal Canadiens (17-18-3) are set to face the Colorado Avalanche (24-15-0), with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.

Despite putting forth a solid effort against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night, the Canadiens lost 4-2 to the worst team in the NHL due to early indiscipline and a heroic performance by goaltender Arvid Soderblom. The Habs reached almost 20 high-danger chances at 5v5, a rarity this season.

Montreal had to do without Patrik Laine and David Savard, with the former dealing with the flu and the latter nursing an upper-body injury. There was no practice this morning as the team had to travel, which means there will not be any media availability. If either Laine or Savard return to the lineup, it will be a game-time decision.

As of now, we can assume Michael Pezzetta will play his second consecutive game, quite the treat considering Friday was his first game since late October. Of course, we’re discussing a small sample size, and an unreasonable break between games, but Pezzetta has produced some very solid underlying numbers during his sporadic shifts (83.5 xGF%).

Seeing as Samuel Montembeault was given the start against the Blackhawks, we can expect rookie Jakub Dobes to face the Avalanche, yet another difficult assignment for the 23-year-old goaltender. Dobes made waves during his NHL debut, shutting down the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers with an impressive 34-save shutout performance.

While many players have enjoyed an uptick in production in recent games, all eyes are on Juraj Slafkovsky, who has scored just four goals and 17 assists in 35 games, putting him on pace for a lower total output this season (47 points) than his sophomore campaign (50 points). He does have three points in his last five games, and he usually plays better in the second half of the season, which suggests a little more patience is in order for the youngest player in the lineup, but with a very rich contract extension kicking in next season it would be encouraging to see some tangible progress.

ON TOPIC: Habs Highlights: Heineman and Caufield Score, Soderblom

As for the Avalanche, they’re in the midst of a dominant stretch that has seen them win six games in a row, and eight of their last ten. Nathan MacKinnon continues to be one of the best players in the NHL, as evidenced by his impressive scoring rate of 14 goals and 50 assists in 39 games. He currently leads all NHL players in scoring. Mikko Rantanen has also put together the type of season you’d expect from a star, to the tune of 22 goals and 34 assists. They’ll be joined by former Hab Artturi Lehkonen on the top line.

There’s a significant drop-down in production from there on, as Casey Mittelstadt is third in points among forwards, with eight goals and 17 assists.

Cale Makar, one of the best defencemen in the NHL, is well above a point per game, and leads all his counterparts with 13 goals and 35 assists. He’s also one of the busiest players in the league, so expect to see him on the ice as often as realistically possible on Saturday night.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Colorado Avalanche Projected Lineup

Lehkonen – MacKinnon – Rantanen

Drouin – Mittelstadt – Colton

Kiviranta – Kelly – O’Connor

Innala – Parssinen – Olausson

Toews – Makar

Girard – Manson

Middleton – Malinski

Blackwood

How to Watch The Montreal Canadiens vs. The Colorado Avalanche, Saturday, January 4, 2025.

Game 36 of the regular season will be aired on City TV, TVA, and Sportsnet East. Once the game is over, an instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Montreal Hockey Now.