Canadiens Preview & Lines: Jakub Dobes Starts Vs. Philadelphia

The Montreal Canadiens (33-28-9) are set to play the Philadelphia Flyers (28-36-9), with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.

This is a perfect opportunity for the Habs to build a little momentum. The Flyers have struggled mightily, as evidenced by their 1-8-1 record in the last 10 games. With that in mind, they fired their head coach, the oft-maligned John Tortorella. With all due respect to Tortorella’s track record, it’s far from surprising. His old school method of coaching has not achieved any semblance of success in the last five years.

OFFICIAL: The Flyers have relieved John Tortorella of his duties as head coach. Philadelphia Flyers Associate Coach, Brad Shaw, has been named interim head coach and will assume duties immediately. https://t.co/qJuAybRMFT pic.twitter.com/saaH0u62lT

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 27, 2025

If the Canadiens hope to make the playoffs, beating lowly teams is a necessity. They’re still considered the favourite team to qualify for the final Eastern Conference Wild Card spot, but there’s almost no margin for error left due to their lack of wins in the last three matchups.

Netminder Samuel Montembeault will finally receive a break, which means rookie netminder Jakub Dobes is set to start. Dobes did play the final 9 minutes of the frustrating 6-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, and that will hopefully help with some of the rust that has surely accumulated, given the 23-year-old netminder but hasn’t started a game since March 12.

If Canadiens do end up making the playoffs, they’ll want Montembeault to be well rested. And if he falters, they’ll want Dobes to be able to step in without being ice-cold due to a lack of game play.

ON TOPIC: NHL Playoffs: 5 Things Canadiens Must Do To Qualify For Playoffs

Kaiden Guhle joined the Canadiens on their road trip, but there’s no word on when he’ll actually re-enter the lineup. The Habs have won a reasonable number of games in Guhle’s absence, and the Lane Hutson – Jayden Struble pairing has thrived, but things haven’t gone according to plan for Alexandre Carrier and Mike Matheson, the duo that has absorbed most of Guhle’s minutes.

Former Hab Ryan Poehling is enjoying a renewed sense of value since arriving in Philadelphia. The 26-year-old scored 11 goals and 16 assists last year, and is currently serving as the Flyers’ third-line centre, with eight goals and 13 assists to his credit this season.

The other former Canadiens player, Nicolas Deslauriers, has only played in 23 games this year, but he’s still one of the hardest hitting players in the league, which means we may end up seeing a rematch with Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Philadelphia Flyers Projected Lineup

Foerster – Cates – Brink

Michkov – Couturier – Konecny

Tippett – Poehling – Pelletier

Deslauriers – Abols – Lycksell

York – Sanheim

Seeler – Drysdale

Zamula – Andrae

Ersson

How to Watch the Montreal Canadiens vs. the Philadelphia Flyers, Thursday, March 27, 2025

Game 71 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.