The Montreal Canadiens are heading into Friday night with a very different look up front, and the timing couldn’t be more notable. Nick Suzuki is out for two to four weeks, which means Montreal has to navigate the first game without him in 546 contests when it faces the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.
That absence doesn’t just change the lineup card; it forces Martin St-Louis to shuffle things around while also dealing with Ivan Demidov still out of the picture, since he didn’t even travel. The good news for Montreal is that the coach still has two functioning lines to work with and only needs to disrupt a low-impact fourth line to cover Suzuki’s spot. The question is whether Oliver Kapanen can step in and handle center duties alongside Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield.
This is the teams’ first meeting of the season, and the Canadiens have had the better of Chicago in recent seasons, winning both games last year by scores of 3-2 in October and 4-1 in December. The Blackhawks, though, have changed plenty since then.
Their offseason additions include Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway from the Buffalo Sabres, along with free-agent signings Cole Smith, Ian Cole, and Patrick Kane. Moving out of the picture are Ilya Mikheyev, Andre Burakovski, Louis Crevier, and Matt Grzelcyk, among others.
Montreal has not announced a starting goalie, but Jacob Fowler would make sense after Jakub Dobes’ overtime mistake on Tuesday. Fowler has never seen the Blackhawks, while Dobes has faced them once and came away with the win, giving up one goal and posting a .933 save percentage.
Chicago’s likely starter is Spencer Knight. He enters with a 1-3-0 record against the Canadiens, along with a 3.27 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage.
Backup Arvid Soderblom has better numbers against Montreal, going 2-0-1 with a 2.21 GAA and a .917 SV. Knight last played on October 17, so he has had plenty of rest, and it would be a surprise if he isn’t in net.
There are also some familiar names to watch in the scoring split. Phillip Danault has 18 points in 22 games against Chicago, while Chris Kreider sits second among Montreal forwards with 17 points in 22 games.
Suzuki would have ranked second for the Canadiens with nine points in 11 matchups, but he’ll miss this one. Zachary Bolduc has eight points in six games, matching Cole Caufield’s total, though Bolduc has already played the Blackhawks nine times.
Mike Matheson also has eight points in 16 games against Chicago, though his status is still uncertain even after practicing with the team yesterday.
For the Blackhawks, Patrick Kane leads the way with 26 points in 30 games against Montreal. Teuvo Teravainen follows with 24 points in 26 games, and Tyler Bertuzzi has 15 points in 24 games.
Frank Nazar has five points in four games, and Conor Bedard has five points in four games as well. Bedard missed the opening portion of the season, but he has returned and has three points in his last three games.
Montreal has taken six of the last 10 matchups between these teams, and this one gives the Canadiens a chance to bank their first win without Suzuki. Chicago comes in with only six points in nine games, while the Canadiens sit 12th in the Eastern Conference with 10 points in nine games.
Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM, with TSN2 carrying the game in English and RDS in French. Morgan MacPhee and Peter MacDougall are the referees, and James Tobias and Ben O'Quinn are the linesmen.
In Other News...
Canadiens Fans Suddenly Have One More Reason To Watch Winnipeg
Trade chatter around Connor Hellebuyck has picked up enough that a Winnipeg watch feels a little different now, even for fans far removed from the negotiations. The Canadiens are not part of the discussions, but their upcoming meeting with the Jets suddenly carries an extra layer of intrigue because it could come against a goalie whose future is being weighed in real time.
The names being floated around the talks show how far this situation could reach, with Carolina, Buffalo and Utah mentioned as possible landing spots. No deal has been confirmed and the picture is still shifting, but Montreal supporters now have one more reason to keep an eye on Winnipeg before that matchup arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Feel Connected To A Defense Market Worth Watching
The defense market is already drawing plenty of attention around the league, and Montreal may have a front-row seat to how it develops. Pierre LeBrun reported that as many as ten NHL teams are involved in trade discussions surrounding Simon Edvinsson, a sign that the chatter around young blue-line help is picking up fast. With recent defenseman deals still fresh in the leagues memory, the asking price and the eventual return on a player like Edvinsson are being watched closely.
One detail that only added to the buzz was Red Wings assistant general manager Kris Draper being spotted at the Bell Centre on Tuesday. The visit was reportedly tied to scouting the San Jose Sharks, which only feeds the sense that several clubs are already positioning themselves for a larger trade market to open up. No move has been confirmed, but with teams like San Jose and Boston mentioned in the mix, this is the kind of situation that can shift quickly and leave plenty of contenders waiting to see who blinks first. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Have A Waiver Option Worth Watching On Defense
A pair of waiver moves around the league created a little more to monitor on the blue line, with Daemon Hunt of the Minnesota Wild and Jack St. Ivany of the Winnipeg Jets among the names available. For a Canadiens team dealing with injuries and looking for short-term defensive depth, that kind of list always gets a second look, especially when the available players include defensemen who might help stabilize the back end without requiring a bigger roster shakeup.
St. Ivany is the more interesting name for Montreal because the right-shot profile matters when a team is trying to patch together a lineup. He would be the sort of depth option worth watching rather than someone who would transform the Canadiens' defense, but in this part of the season those smaller moves can still matter. No decision has been made involving Montreal yet, but the waiver wire has at least given the Canadiens something relevant to track. [Read more 🡒]