The Montreal Canadiens take on the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena tonight. Here are the projected/expected lineups sourced from NHL.com staff writers, independent correspondents, and others.
CANADIENS (6-3-0) at CANUCKS (4-4-0)
7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, NHLN
Canadiens projected lineup
Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook — Oliver Kapanen — Ivan Demidov
Josh Anderson — Jake Evans — Brendan Gallagher
Kirby Dach — Joe Veleno — Zack Bolduc
Mike Matheson — Noah Dobson
Jayden Struble — Lane Hutson
Arber Xhekaj — Alexander Carrier
Jakub Dobes
Sam Montembeault
Scratched: Marc Del Gaizo, Joshua Roy
Injured: Kaiden Guhle (lower body), Patrik Laine (lower body), David Reinbacher (broken metacarpal)
Status report
Neither team held a morning skate and neither practiced Friday, but the Canadiens aren’t expected to make any lineup changes other than Dobes starting after Montembeault made 23 saves in a 6-5 loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
Latest for THW:
- Which NHL Teams’ Surprise Starts Are Real?
- Canadiens’ Newhook off to Underrated Start to 2025-26
- Canadiens Are a Better Team Without Patrik Laine
Canucks projected lineup
Evander Kane — Elias Pettersson — Conor Garland
Jake DeBrusk — Max Sasson — Brock Boeser
Drew O’Connor — Aatu Raty — Kiefer Sherwood
Arshdeep Bains — Lukas Reichel — Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes — Filip Hronek
Marcus Pettersson — Tyler Myers
Elias Nils Pettersson — Victor Mancini
Thatcher Demko
Kevin Lankinen
Scratched: Joseph LaBate, Nils Aman, P.O Joseph
Injured: Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Jonathan Lekkerimaki (upper body), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Nils Hoglander (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Status report
Reichel was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft; Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said the forward was expected to arrive in time to play. Allvin also said they hope to play Reichel as a center even though he spent most of his time with the Blackhawks on the wing. … Allvin said Lekkerimaki, a forward injured in a 4-3 win at the Washington Capitals on Sunday, will miss 2-3 weeks and that Blueger, a center injured late in that game, is likely two weeks away. … Mancini was recalled from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Saturday and likely will replace Joseph, a defenseman. … The Canucks sent defenseman Tom Willander to Abbotsford. … Forbort, a defenseman who has missed six games, had a setback in his recovery and is week to week.
Latest for THW:
- Canucks News & Rumours: Sasson, New Project & Injury Report
- Canucks Have an Eye for the Swedes
- NHL Rumors: Change of Hart, Canucks & Bruins, Action on Chinakhov
