Sam Montembeault will be in goal for the Canadiens when they play the Utah Hockey Club for the first time Tuesday at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS).
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This is the first of back-to-back games for the Canadiens and Cayden Primeau will start in goal Wednesday in Columbus against the Blue Jackets (7:30 p.m., SNE, RDS).
Forward Joshua Roy will play his first game this season with the Canadiens against Utah after getting called up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Monday. Roy, who was one of the last cuts at Canadiens training camp, will be on right wing on the third line with Jake Evans at centre and Emil Heineman on left wing. Roy had 8-8-16 totals in 17 games with the Rocket to lead the team in scoring before getting called up.
Head coach Martin St. Louis will move Kirby Dach back to centre from wing against Utah and he will be on the fourth line with Juraj Slafkovsky and Joel Armia. Dach and Slafkovsky have both struggled this season with one goal each. Dach hasn’t scored in the last 12 games and Slafkovsky hasn’t scored in his last 13 games. Armia has two goals this season and hasn’t scored in the last seven games.
“I think (Dach’s) confidence is not where it probably needs to be, so putting him back in a familiar, more comfortable environment up the middle, hoping that it boosts his confidence,” St. Louis said after the morning skate.
Defenceman Justin Barron will get back in the lineup against Utah after being a healthy scratch for the last two games and eight of the last nine games. Barron will take Jayden Struble’s spot and will be on the second defence pairing with Kaiden Guhle.
The Canadiens (7-11-2) head into the game in last place in the Atlantic Division and in 31st place in the overall NHL standings, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks (7-12-2) for the fewest points. Utah (8-10-3), which used to be the Arizona Coyotes franchise before moving this season, is in sixth place in the Central Division and ranks 27th in the overall NHL standings. The two teams will meet for the second and final time this season on Jan. 14 in Utah.
Captain Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with 7-12-19 totals, followed by Cole Caufield (12-4-16), Mike Matheson (1-12-13) and Brendan Gallagher (8-4-12).
Clayton Keller leads Utah in scoring with 6-13-19 totals, followed by Dylan Guenther (9-9-18), Logan Cooley (4-12-16) and Nick Schmaltz (0-15-15).
Wednesday’s game in Columbus will be the first of three straight on the road for the Canadiens, including two afternoon games on U.S. Thanksgiving weekend. The Canadiens will play the New York Rangers on Saturday (1 p.m., TSN2, RDS) and the Boston Bruins on Sunday (3 p.m., TSN2, RDS).