After taking a backseat to Mackenzie Blackwood for the last two games and, despite him saving saving 87 of 94 shots, watching his Sharks go winless (0-1-1), Kahkonen will get the start on Thursday night against the Boston Bruins. In his only game this season, Kahkonen allowed four goals on 32 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks are +236 home underdogs against a Boston Bruins team that has yet to lose a game (2-0-0).

Dach and the Montreal Canadiens' worst fears were realized as it was confirmed he will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season with a torn ACL and MCL. Dach only had the opportunity to suit up twice this season, recording two points (0G / 2A), leaving before the completion of his second game. The 22-year-old has already battled a myriad of injuries in his young career. At least for the time being, newcomer Alex Newhook will presume the duties of second-line center for the Canadiens.

After a strong performance in his first game of the season, the Canadiens will turn to Montembault for his second consecutive start. Montembault is coming off a 28-save, 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Montembault quietly put up a respectable .901 SV% last season for a Canadiens squad that ranked fourth-worth defensively, giving up 3.72 goals per game. If Montembault can string together some more strong performances, he could be in line to take control of the starter's crease in Montreal. The Canadiens are +120 home underdogs against a Minnesota Wild team that is expected to be without Matt Boldy for the next several weeks.

The Canadiens received terrible news Monday morning as Dach is expected to be out indefinitely after suffering a lower-body injury in Saturday's matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks. The 22-year-old center had two assists, three shots, and three hits in his first two games of the season. Alex Newhook is expected to replace Dach as the second-line center.

Montembeault will make his season debut for the Canadiens on Saturday against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. The 26-year-old Montembault is coming off the busiest season of his young career which saw him play in 40 games (16-19-3), recording a 3.42 GAA and .901 SV%. Montembault was fantastic in his only matchup against the Blackhawks last season, recording 30 saves in a 3-2 shootout victory.

Kahkonen struggled in 2022-23 as he was 9-20-7 with a 3.85 GAA and a .883 SV% but will draw the opening night start for San Jose as they host Vegas on Thursday. The 27-year-old is entering his fifth NHL season and will hope to help the Sharks finish outside the bottom three after they were 29th in the NHL in goals against last season (315). He takes on the Vegas Golden Knights, who are 1-0-0 after a 4-1 win over Seattle on opening night that saw them put 28 shots on goal.

On Monday, the Canadiens announced that Newhook was day-to-day, but head coach Martin St. Louis said that he is confident that Newhook will be ready for the start of the season. Newhook, who had 30 points (14G / 16A) in 82 games last year, was acquired from the Avalanche in the offseason. The 22-year-old is expected to open the season as a bottom-6 option for the Habs.

Veleno had nine goals, 11 assists, 30 PIMs, 85 SOG, and a -12 plus/minus through 81 games with the Red Wings in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $825,000 extension Wednesday. The 23-year-old was Detroit's 2018 first-round pick (30th overall) and has picked up 18 goals, 36 points, and 166 SOG through 152 career NHL games across three seasons.

Byron had 98 goals, 208 points, 139 PIMs, and a +31 plus/minus through 12 NHL seasons and 521 games played and officially retired from the NHL on Tuesday. The 34-year-old left-winger last played for Montreal in 2021-22 and had four goals, seven points, and only 33 SOG through 27 games before missing the majority of the year due to reoccurring hip issues.

Newhook had 14 goals 16 assists, 116 SOG, and 22 PIMs across 82 games played with Colorado in 2022-23 and has signed a four-year, $11.6 million contract ($2,900,000 AAV) with Montreal. The 22-year-old's rights were acquired by Montreal for a pair of early round draft picks and a prospect earlier in the month. The American centre was the Avalanche's 2019 first-round pick (16th overall) and has 27 goals and 66 points across 159 career NHL games.

Bezile had six goals, eight assists, 40 SOG, and 13 PIMs through 31 games with Montreal in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.55 million ($775,000 AAV) with the New York Rangers. The 31-year-old right-winger scored all six of his career goals last season but has nine assists as well through 45 career NHL games.

The Canadiens drafted Reinbacher No.5 overall in this summer's NHL draft, making him the first defenseman off the board. The 18-year-old had 22 points (3G / 19A) in 46 games with Kloten HC of the National League (Switzerland). He also represented Austria in the 2022 and 2023 World Juniors, posting four assists in nine combined games.

Hoedenmaker had 11 goals, 27 assists, 114 PIMs and a -2 plus/minus through 65 games with Toronto (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, entry-level contract worth $845,000 with the Edmonton Oilers. The 24-year-old undrafted defensemen has yet to make his NHL debut but has slowly risen through the leagues after a strong season in the ECHL with Newfoundland in 2021-22.

Carrier had two goals, seven assists, 48 SOG and 27 PIMs across 43 games played in 2022-23 with Nashville and has signed a one-year contract extension worth $2.5 million. The 26-year-old defenseman will be entering his sixth season in Nashville, having picking up six goals and 42 points across 144 career games.

Newhook was the No.16 overall pick in 2019 and has tallied 66 points (27G / 39A) in 159 career NHL games since turning pro in 2021. Most recently, he had 30 points (14G / 16A) in 82 games, averaging 13:57 ATOI. He should play a larger role with the Canadiens and could play more on the wing, similar to what Montreal did with Kirby Dach in 2023.

Clurman had three goals with 12 assists (15 points) in 57 games with the Colorado Eagles (AHL) during the 2023 season. The 2016 sixth-round pick has spent time in the ECHL and AHL over the last two seasons.

Caufield was limited to just 46 games during the 2022-23 season but set a career-best with 26 goals while adding 10 assists (36 points). The new deal makes Caufield the second-highest-paid skater in Montreal, behind Nick Suzuki ($7.875M AAV).

Condotta had 16 goals, 14 assists, 61 PIMs and a +1 plus/minus in 71 games with the Laval Rocket (AHL) and has been recalled to Montreal on an emergency basis and is expected to make his NHL debut Thursday. The 25-year-old joined the Canadiens as an undrafted free agent in 2021-22 after finishing school at UMass-Lowell (NCAA).