The Montreal Canadiens will finally play their first hockey game in almost 4 months when they face off at Scotiabank Arena at 8:00pmET against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Both teams spent phase two and three getting ready for the eventual return and Tuesday’s match is a key test for both clubs to see how they’ve progressed through the duration of summer camp. After this match, the team will jump into the play against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
Lineups haven’t been released yet, but will be confirmed early Tuesday evening around 5:15, as reported by Luc Gelinas. This is the case for most game days as Claude Julien meets with the media before puck drop. As of early afternoon, no injuries have been announced and the Canadiens are fully healthy.
Players To Watch For Montreal
Max Domi: Domi didn’t have the best season this past year, but will certainly be looking to change that. He ranks third on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 27 assists. This made for 44 points which he compiled in 71 games.
Brendan Gallagher: Gallagher was on pace for another 30-plus goal season before the league halted play. Look for him to resume that scoring and be a usual pest in front of the net.
Players To Watch For Toronto
Auston Matthews: Matthews is always dangerous on the ice and finished this past season with 47 goals. To go along with those, he added 80 points in 70 games played. This was a first for Matthews, hitting that plateau in his fourth NHL season.
Mitch Marner: Marner is another skilled forward that the Montreal defence will have to put up with. He finished the season with 16 goals and 51 points in 67 games.
Season Series
Montreal and Toronto have met on three different occasions this past season, and through that series of games, the Canadiens hockey club is 3-0. The most memorable match was on October 4th when Montreal made a spirited comeback, down 4-1 to win 6-5 in a shootout.
The game is scheduled for 8:00pm and can be seen on NHL Network, Sportsnet One and TVA Sports. It can also be heard via radio on TSN 690 and 98.5fm.