Canadiens Vs Predators: projected lineups and the goaltending focus ahead of 7 pm ET puck drop
Canadiens vs predators takes center stage Saturday night with a 7 pm ET puck drop, as Montreal visits Nashville with projected line combinations coming into sharper view and a key goaltending decision drawing attention.
What Happens When Canadiens Vs Predators lineups take shape before puck drop?
Both teams’ projected groups outline how each side is set up heading into the matchup.
Montreal Canadiens projected lines
Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook — Oliver Kapanen — Ivan Demidov
Zachary Bolduc — Jake Evans — Josh Anderson
Joe Veleno — Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher
Scratched: Arber Xhekaj, Samuel Montembeault
Injured: Kirby Dach (upper body), Patrik Laine (lower body), Alexandre Texier (lower body)
Nashville Predators projected lines
Steven Stamkos — Ryan O’Reilly — Luke Evangelista
Filip Forsberg — Matthew Wood — Jonathan Marchessault
Zachary L’Heureux — Erik Haula — Tyson Jost
Reid Schaefer — Fedor Svechkov — Ozzy Wiesblatt
Texier remains day to day.
What If Montreal’s goaltending plan is the hinge point?
Montreal’s practice indicators have pointed to Jacob Fowler being set to start, with Fowler described as the first goaltender to leave the ice at practice—often treated as a strong signal for the upcoming game. At the same time, another outlook for Montreal in this matchup had them turning back to Jakub Dobes for a third consecutive start.
On Nashville’s side, Juuse Saros was the first goaltender off the ice at the morning skate and is expected to start.
What Happens When recent form and season production collide in Canadiens vs predators?
Montreal enters with notable individual production near the top of its roster this season. Lane Hutson registered his 70th point of the season in a win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, making him the third Canadiens player to reach 70 points, alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Nashville’s top end has been led in points by Ryan O’Reilly, and the Predators have not had a player reach 70 points.
Team-level comparisons outlined ahead of the game have also favored Montreal in multiple areas: a better power play, more goals scored, fewer allowed, and more faceoff wins than Nashville. Even with those edges, the matchup has been framed as a potential “trap game” dynamic for Montreal, with a spotlight on their tendency to have a hard time starting games on the right foot and to deliver some of their best performances when facing adversity.
In the most recent head-to-head trend referenced for this matchup, Montreal has won four straight against Nashville.
