Canadiens @ Blues: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

Montreal Canadiens @ St. Louis Blues

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: CityTV, Sportsnet 360 (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Blues region: Bally Sports Midwest

Despite the Montreal Canadiens getting the win in their previous game versus the Buffalo Sabres, head coach Martin St-Louis has opted to make some lineup changes, giving the forward lines a significant shakeup.

Part of that is due to Juraj Slafkovský and Joel Armia being ready to return to action, but we’ll also see Michael Pezzetta’s first game of the season. The addition of the three big-bodied forwards comes at the expense of Jonathan Drouin, Rem Pitlick, and Evgenii Dadonov, the latter of whom is making his way to the press box for the first time this season following a pointless eight-game stint.

The defence, one that ranks 12th in the league despite four of its six members being rookies, remains intact. It’s been the play of David Savard really leading the group in recent days, though Kaiden Guhle did notch his first NHL goal the last time out. Jake Allen was saved from the game on Thursday for this Saturday night match, allowing him to take his run of great play to start the year into the meeting with his former team.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Scratched: Evgenii Dadonov, Jonathan Drouin, Rem Pitlick,
Injured: Paul Byron, Joel Edmundson, Mike Matheson

St. Louis Blues projected lineup