Canadiens Pre Game
Canadiens Preview & Lines: Montembeault Starts, Heineman Injury
The Montreal Canadiens (20-18-4) are set to face the Utah Hockey Club (18-17-6), with the puck drop scheduled for 9 pm ET.
The Habs will be without the services of Emil Heineman, who was hit by a car while walking in Utah. Fortunately, it doesn’t appear that the injuries are overly serious, and he’s only expected to miss up to four weeks. His agent has suggested it might be a broken ankle, while the Canadiens announced it was an upper-body injury.
We wish Heineman nothing but the best as he recovers from the incident.
ON TOPIC: Emil Heineman Involved In Accident, Hit By Car
His absence in the lineup means Michael Pezzetta will play against Utah, while Alex Newhook, who missed practice on Monday due to the flu, will also lace them up. Goaltender Samuel Montembeault will be the starter.
Even though Montreal dropped a 2-1 game in the shootout versus the Dallas Stars on Saturday, they’re still 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, which connotes the momentum could be reignited with a big win over a struggling team such as Utah.
While most of the attention in the last stretch of games has been given to Cole Caufield, or the goaltenders, particularly Jakub Dobes, it’s worth pointing out Nick Suzuki has registered seven points in the last five games.
Things haven’t gone to plan for Utah, as evidenced by the fact that they only have two wins in the last 10 games, and have only managed to score 117 goals, placing them in the bottom-tier of all NHL teams.
Clayton Keller leads the team with 15 goals and 21 assists in 41 games, followed by Logan Cooley, who has 11 goals and 25 assists to his credit.
Juraj Slafkovsky’s development has been at the centre of many discussions in Montreal this year, and while the debate will likely endure for another couple of years, it’s worth pointing out that Cooley has emerged as the most productive player from the top of the 2022 draft class, and it’s not a particularly close race.
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
| Cole Caufield | Nick Suzuki | Juraj Slafkovsky |
| Ivan Demidov | Jake Evans | Alex Newhook |
| Josh Anderson | Christian Dvorak | Brendan Gallagher |
| Emil Heineman | Oliver Kapanen | Joel Armia |
| Mike Matheson | Alexandre Carrier** |
| Kiaden Guhle | Lane Hutson |
| Arber Xhekaj | David Savard |
| Jakub Dobes |
| Cayden Primeau |
Utah Hockey Club Lineup
Keller – Cooley – Schmaltz
Maccelli – Hayton – Doan
McBain – Bjugstad – Course
Kerfoot – Stenlund – Carcone
Sergachev – Maatta
Cole – Kesselring
Valimaki – Marino
Vejmelka
How to Watch The Montreal Canadiens vs. The Utah Hockey Club, Tuesday, January 14, 2025,
Game 43 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.
