Canadiens Pre Game
Canadiens Preview And Lines: Montembeault Set To Start
The Montreal Canadiens (18-18-3) are set to face the Vancouver Canucks (18-12-8), with the puck drop scheduled for 7:30 pm ET.
The Habs are in the midst of their best stretch of the season, securing wins against the Florida Panthers, the Vegas Golden Knights, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Colorado Avalanche during their holiday road trip. With the impressive, well-deserved wins against recent Stanley Cup champions in the books, the team is brimming with confidence, even if they did lose a game to the Chicago Blackhawks during the recent stretch. Truth be told, they played well enough to win, but were shut down by a dominant goaltender, Arvid Soderblom.
That brings us to the most recent topic in Montreal, the play of rookie netminder Jakub Dobes. He had a 34-save shutout versus the Panthers to start his NHL career, and followed it up with a heroic performance in the shootout versus the Avalanche that secured a 2-1 overtime win. Due to his fantastic .982 save percentage, there has been a discussion among Canadiens fans as to the goaltender that should start on Monday, with some suggesting Samuel Montembeault should forfeit his (tentatively) scheduled start against the Canucks.
While there’s logic to the strategy, we also have to remember Montembeault does not deserve to lose his net, and that he was Montreal’s best player on most nights during two very difficult rebuilding seasons, which connotes a little more loyalty from the Habs is in order.
That being said, the Canadiens did not hold practice on Monday, a recurring theme for the team in the last few weeks. When you’re playing well and travelling, practice can become an obstacle rather than a positive.
Without an official practice, we do not know which goaltender head coach Martin St-Louis will turn to, nor do we know whether injured players Patrik Laine (flu) or David Savard (upper-body injury) will be available. He will address the media a couple of hours before puck drop to clear up any questions.
Update: It is indeed Montembeault who will receive the start for the Habs. No other lineup changes are expected.
ON TOPIC: Habs Highlights: Dobes Great, Caufield Goal, Slafkovsky Benched
The Canadiens are 7-3-0 in their last ten games, propelling them into the playoff conversation (for the time being). The Canucks, on the other hand, are 3-4-3, and frustration is starting to mount.
The forwards are a bit of a mess, with Connor Garland leading all scorers (10 goals, 19 assists), followed by Elias Pettersson (10 goals, 18 assists) and Jake Debrusk (16 goals, 12 assists). A rift between Pettersson and JT Miller has hijacked the conversation in Vancouver, leading to discussions whether Miller or Pettersson should be placed on the NHL’s trade block.
Both players denied any sort of friction, much like Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban did many years ago in Montreal. It turned out both players did not, in fact, enjoy playing together, which isn’t particularly uncommon in the NHL. They’re playing professional sports, not going on a camping trip. Affability is important, but not to the point that it should disrupt a locker room.
As for the defencemen, Quinn Hughes continues to be a dominant presence on the Canucks blue line. He has eight goals and 34 assists, giving him the team lead in scoring. To put a fine point on how much better he is than the rest of the defensive group, Quinn’s closest competition in terms of production is Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers, both of which are yet to reach 10 points this year. To be fair, Hronek has only played 21 games, while Myers has played 38.
To make matters more difficult for the Canucks, Hughes and Pettersson are considered game-time decisions heading into Monday’s game, and Hronek is not expected to play.
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
| Cole Caufield | Nick Suzuki | Juraj Slafkovsky |
| Alex Newhook | Kirby Dach | Patrik Laine |
| Josh Anderson | Christian Dvorak | Brendan Gallagher |
| Owen Beck | Jake Evans | Joel Armia |
| Lane Hutson | Mike Matheson |
| Kaiden Guhle | Alex Carrier |
| Arber Xhekaj | David Savard |
| Samuel Montembeault |
| Jakub Dobes |
Vancouver Canucks Projected Lineup
DeBrusk – Miller – Boeser
Di Giuseppe – Suter – Garland
Heinen – Blueger – Sherwood
Hoglander – Sasson – Lekkerimaki
Hughes* – Myers
Soucy – Juulsen
Forbort – Desharnais
Lankinen
How to Watch The Montreal Canadiens vs. The Vancouver Canucks, Monday, January 6, 2025.
Game 36 of the regular season will be aired on Amazon Prime and RDS. Once the game is over, an instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Montreal Hockey Now.
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I agree with you that Monty does not deserve to lose the net. The bigger concern for tonight’s game for me, however, is that both Laine and Savard are still out of the lineup. Because this Vancouver team seems to be unravelling, and that, coupled with injuries, makes them quite beatable — assuming the Canucks goalie doesn’t stand on his head, like Greaves and Soderblom did on the Habs recent road trip.
The evaluation of Dobes is in its infancy so I don’t see the issue with giving the leagues second busiest goalie a break. If Dobes does great, that’s good for the team. Yes tgat puts internal competition pressure on Monty but our goalies need to perform under pressure. Likewise, Matheson leads the team in ice time despite dropping to second pp unit. Hutson has performed very well, but Mike is ready should tge need arise. And let’s not forget that neither goalie should get too comfortable as The Fowler Factor will add a new dynamic before too long. No telling how that will play out but it should be beneficial for the team.