Mike Matheson will replace Jayden Struble in the lineup tonight

Mike Matheson missed the Habs' last two games. The defenseman, who is a defensive pillar of the club, was struggling with an injury.

It wasn't ideal… but at least it seemed minor enough.

The question, then, was whether Matheson would be able to return to action tonight. And Martin St-Louis, in the last few minutes, confirmed that #8 will be back in the lineup tonight.

Good news for the Habs.

What's interesting is that he'll be taking the place of Jayden Struble, who was benched for the Habs' last game. Adam Engström would have been easy to bench, but it's Struble who gets the short end of the stick (and rightly so).

Mike Matheson IN, Jayden Struble OUT vs @penguins @CanadiensMTL @TVASports

– Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) December 20, 2025

We know that Matheson is probably the most important defenseman in town. He eats up a lot of minutes, and above all, he's Martin St-Louis' most trusted defender.

This was evident in his last game, when he spent nearly five consecutive minutes on the ice late in the game to protect his team's lead.

More details to come…