Canadiens Pre Game
Canadiens Preview And Lines: Dobes Starts, Playoff Implications
The Montreal Canadiens (30-26-6) are set to face the Calgary Flames (29-23-10), with the puck drop set for 7 pm ET.
The Habs saw their five-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday versus the Edmonton Oilers, however, not all the momentum has been lost, as Martin St-Louis’ team managed to secure a point by forcing overtime.
Sniper Cole Caufield’s fantastic individual effort opened the scoring for the Canadiens, yet more evidence that the first line is doing most of the heavy lifting this season. The game also featured Lane Hutson’s 45th assist of the season, a continuation of his fantastic rookie campaign which has led to a bevy of broken records, not to mention a laundry list of entertaining plays that lead to high-danger scoring chances.
Lane Hutson draws the attention and then sets up Joel Armia perfectly. AS is tradition.
Hutson’s 45th assist!!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ry2ncADiMG
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 7, 2025
ON TOPIC: Habs Highlights: Cole Caufield Is Red Hot, One Point Secured
Rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes will get the start versus the Flames, while the rest of the lineup is expected to remain unchanged, despite a few players missing practice due to therapy days. The biggest question mark is Patrik Laine, who is dealing with the flu again.
Not only does Saturday’s game have important playoff implications for the Canadiens, the result will also have a direct impact on Calgary’s first-round pick, which happens to be owned by the Habs. Simply put, a win would go a long way in improving the short-term outlook for the Habs, as well as their long-term asset management.
The Habs are just one point behind the Ottawa Senators for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. That may sound like a relatively comfortable spot for a team that has missed the playoffs three seasons in a row, but the Senators aren’t the only team vying for that spot. If the Canadiens want to improve their playoff hopes, they can’t afford to leave points on the table.
Calgary is also battling hard to secure a Wild Card spot, though their road to the playoffs goes through the slaughterhouse that is the Western Conference, muddying their overall chances to enjoy a little springtime hockey.
The Flames also have a very hard time scoring goals, which means they’ll have to score by committee down the final stretch of the season. They’re dead last in goals per game (2.58, 32nd), and none of their players have managed to produce more than 45 points this season, putting a fine point on their offensive woes.
Montreal Canadiens Projected 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 |
Calgary Flames Projected Lineup
Huberdeau – Kadri – Coronato
Coleman – Backlund – Farabee
Sharangovich – Frost – Pospisil
Lomberg – Rooney – Zary
Hanley – Weegar
Bahl – Andersson
Bean – Pachal
Wolf
How to Watch the Montreal Canadiens vs. the Calgary Flames, Saturday, March 8, 2025.
Game 63 of the regular season will be aired on TVA Sports, Sportsnet, and City TV. Once the game is over, an instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Montreal Hockey Now.
If Wolf is the goalie tonight, it would be great if we could light him up with Hutson in on everything, in order to cement his position as the Calder Cup favourite. You know Wolf will be motivated to shut the door, so we’re going to have to really get in his face.
I don’t think either Calgary or Montreal would be in playoff contension without their rookie stars. Definitely, without Wolf the Flames would be a much worse team so he has really hurt us as far as our first round pick from Calgary goes. That being said I thought Skinner would be would not play as good as he did on Thursday so maybe the hockey gods even things out by having Wolf under perform tonight.
🤞
I guess that didn’t work out for us. 🫤
These two teams are nearly mirror images at this point. Yes, CGY can’t score, but the Habs give up more goals. Wolf is the best rookie goalie right now, no questions asked. He has stolen a bunch of games for them this season. Probably will be a low scoring event, with a 3-2 winning score likely.
Big game…
Both teams stood pat too – not buying or selling at the deadline…
Our rookie goalie goes head to head with the best rookie goalie out there, with a side of Hutson vs Wolf in the Calder race….
should be a good one…
PS – I hope the Rangers hold on to beat the Sens and I really hope it isn’t another 3 point game… (3-2 in the 3rd right now) 😉
Question for Marc Dumont. I haven’t heard anything from you about Demidov lately. What is happening with him?
You’re right, an update is well overdue.
I’ll get on that asap. I’m just hanging out with my godson tonight, and he’s officially a hockey fan now, so I’m going to enjoy this fantastic moment, and then get back to work. Look for an in-depth update early in the week.
For what it’s worth, he’s going to Disneyland tomorrow with his grandparents, and he didn’t invite me, so I’m a little miffed.