Montembeault stopped all 48 shots that he faced in Canadiens' shutout win over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. It was an outstanding start to the season for Montembeault, who was fourth in the NHL in QualityStart% (70.0%) a season ago. Tonight, he'll face the Senators as +139 home underdogs.

Montembeault stopped all 48 shots that he faced in Canadiens' shutout win over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. It was an outstanding start to the season for Montembeault, who was fourth in the NHL in QualityStart% (70.0%) a season ago. Tonight, he'll face the Senators as +139 home underdogs.

Heineman had two SOG and three hits in 9:40 TOI in the Canadiens season opener but was a healthy scratch in their second game. He'll replace Alex Barré-Boulet on the fourth line on Saturday.

Barré-Boulet failed to record a point and was a minus-2 rating in the first two games of the season. He'll be replaced by Emil Heineman on the Canadiens' fourth line.

Lindstrom played for the Canadiens last season before being placed on waivers and being claimed by the Anaheim Ducks. The Canadiens signed him to a one-year, two-way contract on Wednesday and subsequently placed him on waivers. In his first stint with the Canadiens last season, Lindstrom tallied six points (0G / 6A), a +12 plus/minus rating, 40 blocks, and 54 hits in 32 games.

Oliver Kapanen will draw into the Canadiens lineup for his NHL debut on Thursday, resulting in Heineman being a healthy scratch. The 22-year-old Heineman playing 9:40 time-on-ice in his season debut last night, recording two shots and two penalty minutes.

The Canadiens won their season opener 1-0 over the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, courtesy of an outstanding 48-save shutout performance by Sam Montembeault. However, the Canadiens will turn to Primeau between the pipes on Thursday for the tail end of their back-to-back set. The 25-year-old Primeau faced the heaviest workload of his young career last season and was impressive doing so, posting a solid 2.99 GAA and .910 SV% in 23 appearances (8-9-4). The Canadiens enter action on Thursday as sizeable +239 road underdogs against the Boston Bruins.

Emil Heineman will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Kapanen to make his NHL debut. Kapanen was the second-round pick (64 overall) of the Canadiens in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old spent last season with KalPa Kuopio (SM-liiga), where he scored 34 points (14G / 20A) in 51 games.

Lindstrom played for the Canadiens last season before being placed on waivers and being claimed by the Anaheim Ducks. In his first stint with the Canadiens last season, Lindstrom tallied six points (0G / 6A), a +12 plus/minus rating, 40 blocks, and 54 hits in 32 games.

The Canadiens will turn to Montembeault in the crease in their season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. After an impressive 2023-24 campaign for a defensively porous Canadiens club, Montembeault is expected to have a heavy workload as the starting netminder this season. In 41 games last season (16-15-9), Montembeault was solid, posting a 3.14 GAA and .903 SV%. That said, he struggled mightily against the Maple Leafs last season, posting an ugly 4.90 GAA and .821 SV% in two contests (0-2-0).

Struble will not play in the Canadiens' season opener on Wednesday due to a upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day. The 23-year-old defenseman was impressive in his inaugural NHL season, tallying 10 points (3G / 7A), 53 blocks, and 121 hits while averaging 16:07 time-on-ice in 56 games.

Montreal was given some semi-good news on Tuesday when it was announced Patrik Laine was only expected to miss two to three months with a sprained left knee from a hit endured by Toronto's Cedric Pare. The 26-year-old winger was acquired from Columbus in late August for a 2026 2nd-round pick and Jordan Harris after he put up six goals, nine points, and 41 SOG in 18 games in 2023-24.

Reinbacher suffered a knee injury in the Canadiens' preseason game vs. the Maple Leafs and is expected to be sidelined until at least early-March. This is a tough blow in a big developmental year for the 2023 No.5 overall pick. The 19-year-old blueliner appeared in 11 AHL games a season ago, scoring two goals with three assists.

Laine's well-documented time in Columbus has come to an end after he was traded to Montreal alongside a 2026 3rd-round pick for Jordan Harris. The 26-year-old only appeared in 18 games in 2023-24 after a clavicle injury and trip to the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program took his season from him. The 26-year-old has not surpassed 60 points since 2019-20 and is far from his 19-year-old self who had 44 goals and 70 points in 82 games played. He is expected to join Montreal's top-six for the start of the 2024-25 season.

Guhle was set to become an RFA at the end of the 2024-25 season, but gets an extension done early and is now signed through the 2030-31 season. The 22-year-old defenseman was selected No.16 overall in 2020 and essentially skipped the AHL after spending four seasons in the WHL. Most recently, he had 22 points (6G / 16A) in 70 games while ranking second among Canadiens' blueliners in TOI/gm (20:51).

Montreal locked up their designated "tough guy" on Tuesday after they signed Arber Xhekah to a two-year, $2.6 million contract extension ($1,300,000 AAV). The undrafted 23-year-old is entering his third NHL season after putting up three goals and 10 points in 44 games played in 2023-24. In 95 career NHL games played, he has 182 PIMs.

Laine entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in December 2023 and has been officially released on Friday which is expected to expedite his trade request from earlier this summer. The 26-year-old former 2nd overall pick has not appeared in more than 56 games since 2019-20 and had only six goals, nine points and 41 SOG in 18 gmaes played in 2023-24.

In a bit of an early blow for Montreal, forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard announced Friday that he had successfully underwent surgery for his leg and is expected to miss at least the first four months of the 2024-25 season. The 25-year-old winger set career highs in games played (45) and assists (8) in 2023-24 but had a down year overall with only 10 total points and a -2 plus/minus.

Nashville locked up one of its RFAs on Monday after it signed Alexandre Carrier to a three-year deal worth $11.25 million ($3.75M AAV). The 27-year-old just completed his sixth season in Nashville and had four goals, 20 points, 44 PIMs and a +7 plus/minus in 73 games played in 2023-24.