Canadiens Preview & Lines: Montembeault Starts, Guhle Healthy

The Montreal Canadiens (33-27-9) are set to face the St. Louis Blues (37-28-7), with the puck drop scheduled for 8 pm ET.

The Habs are still holding onto the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, and they did show the type of resilience that has come to define their season by pushing their last two opponents to extra time, losing to the Islanders in overtime, as well as the Colorado Avalanche in the shootout.

However, given that there are so few games left in the season, the team can’t afford to keep leaving points on the table.

No changes are expected to the Canadiens lineup on Tuesday, but there is a slight chance defender Kaiden Guhle ends up playing versus the Blues. The hard-working defenceman joined the team on their current road trip, which will bring them to Philadelphia, Carolina, and Florida before returning to the Bell Centre on April 1.

Kaiden Guhle suivra l’équipe pour le prochain voyage

Kaiden Guhle will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/XiwcVdNyAi

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 24, 2025

With that in mind, head coach Martin St-Louis will once again turn to veteran netminder Samuel Montembeault to defeat the Blues, meaning rookie Jakub Dobes will have to wait until Thursday or Friday to start his first game since March 12.

Of course, that’s an assumption, but even if St. Louis prefers to rely on his veteran netminder, back-to-back games to close out the week should lead to a Dobes sighting.

If the Canadiens do make the playoffs, they will need Montembeault to be at his best, but there’s also something to be said about avoiding grinding your starter into dust before the playoffs even begin. As it stands, Dobes is sporting a .907 save percentage, whereas Montembeault has hovered around .900 the entire season.

This will be the second and final time these two teams meet, with the Habs emerging from their October 26 match-up with a 5-2 win. Both happen to be fighting for the final Wild Card spot in their respective conferences, it should provide an abundance of entertainment to fans.

Even with the two recent losses, the Habs still maintain one of the best post-4 Nations record in the league, but the Blues are right there with them, making this not only a crucial game for both team’s playoff hopes, but also a fairly even match-up between two hungry clubs.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

St. Louis Blues Projected Lineup

Neighbours – Thomas – Bolduc

Holloway – Schenn – Kyrou

Joseph – Sundqvist – Texier

Toropchenko – Faksa – Walker

Fowler – Leddy

Broberg – Faulk

Suter – Tucker

Binnington

How to Watch the Montreal Canadiens vs. the St. Louis Blues, Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Game 70 of the regular season will be aired on TVA Sports, and Sportsnet East. Once the game is over, an instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Montreal Hockey Now.