The Habs will look to get back in the win column while exacting some revenge
on division rival Toronto for beating them on opening night when the two teams
square off Saturday night at the Bell Centre. The Maple Leafs have been
terrific on the road so far this season having won five of six while Montreal
has done well at home, winning five of seven.
The Canadiens confirmed after the morning skate that Ryan White will return
to his still-warm spot in the press box after taking a costly and unnecessary
double minor in the 3rd period against Buffalo although that should come as no
surprise. No lineup changes are expected in terms of skaters; Brandon
Prust was back with Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher despite the fact that
Lars Eller was in that spot for large sections of Thursday’s shootout loss.
Carey Price will get the nod between the pipes.
Although Toronto was hoping to have Mike Brown (who squared off in a fight
with Prust early in the opener) back for this one, it appears he is not fully
recovered from his shoulder injury. As a result, no changes are expected
up front for the Leafs. On defence, former Hab Mike Komisarek is once
again expected to be a healthy scratch as rookie Korbinian Holzer appears to
have supplanted him on the depth chart. The German-born blueliner is
expected to be promoted to the top pairing for this game. James Reimer,
who didn’t play against Montreal earlier, will start tonight.
Projected Lines
Toronto (6-5-0) |
Montreal (6-3-1) |
| van Riemsdyk – Bozak – Kessel MacArthur – Grabovski – Kulemin Komarov – Kadri – Frattin Orr – McClement – McLaren Phaneuf – Reimer |
Bourque – Plekanec – Gionta Pacioretty – Desharnais – Cole Prust – Galchenyuk – Gallagher Moen – Eller – Armstrong Markov – Price |
Victory Keys
1) Early Positives – After a demoralizing loss in Buffalo, the Leafs
will be looking to jump on the Habs while they’re down. Whether it’s a
goal, some big hits, strong special teams play, etc, making some good plays
early on should boost any lost confidence.
2) Contain Kessel – Toronto’s sniper finally scored his first goal and
he has a tendency to score in bunches. Whichever line is assigned to play
against their top unit (I imagine that will be Plekanec’s trio) will need to be
particularly sharp.
3) Wake up the Desharnais line – Last year, the
Pacioretty-Desharnais-Cole line was the offence on a lot of nights but
that hasn’t been the case this year. Cole has been quiet most nights,
Desharnais has struggled after scoring last weekend, and Pacioretty remains
goalless on the season through six games. Production from that line is
needed badly.
Puck drop is at 7:00 PM EST and can be seen on CBC, RDS, and NHL Network in
the USA.