Surprise announcement for the Habs: An unexpected player finds himself alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield
In the last few minutes, the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Martin St-Louis, has unveiled the composition of his lineup for the penultimate preparatory match of the Tricolore.
To the surprise of many, it is not Sean Monahan who was found alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. However, the 28-year-old forward had an excellent performance when he was used on the first line against the Ottawa Senators. Strangely, it is Josh Anderson who will accompany the two-star forwards tonight instead.
Additionally, although the head coach has tried many combinations since the start of training camp, one line, in particular, seems set in stone. Indeed, the second line composed of Kirby Dach, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, and Juraj Slafkovsky will play a third game tonight, and all signs point to them starting the year together.
Here is the CH lineup for the game against the Leafs:
Rafael Harvey-Pinard -- Kirby Dach -- Juraj Slafkovsky
Tanner Pearson -- Sean Monahan -- Brendan Gallagher
Emil Heineman -- Jakes Evans -- Jesse Ylonen
Mattias Norlinder -- David Savard
Arber Xhekaj -- Jonathan Kovacevic
Jordan Harris -- Logan Mailloux
Jake Allen
Cayden Primeau
Moreover, it will also be very interesting to see how Logan Mailloux will fare against the NHL stars tonight, as he might potentially benefit from Gustav Lindstrom's injury to earn a spot with the big club.
The Tricolore's prospect has stood out since the beginning of the exhibition games, but the task promises to be much more difficult as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander will all be in uniform for the Leafs.
| POLL | ||
Do you believe that Martin St-Louis should keep the trio of Kirby Dach, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Rafael Harvey-Pinard for the first game of the year? | ||
| Yes | 40 | 80 % |
| No | 10 | 20 % |
| List of polls | ||
