Martin St-Louis is refusing to give any hints about his defensive strategy tonight

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Martin St-Louis is refusing to give any hints about his defensive strategy tonight
Credit: Jason Mowry/Getty Images

Well, well.

Martin St-Louis had five guys on the ice this morning: Brendan Gallagher, Oliver Kapanen, Patrik Laine, Samuel Montembeault, and Jacob Fowler. There was no practice on the schedule.

In other words? These guys won't be playing, barring a (huge) surprise.

But defensively, that means we still don't know which defenseman will be left out. Will Jayden Struble take Arber Xhekaj's spot, who saw little ice time on Tuesday?

No way to know.

Unless a Habs defenseman is so injured that he can't skate this morning (or a player is dealing with an exceptional situation), it's safe to assume the Canadiens' coach is simply trying to keep his cards close to his chest.

In the playoffs, that's fair game, I suppose.

I have a feeling Struble would have skated if he hadn't been told he's playing tonight. So I expect to see some fresh blood in the lineup tonight, replacing the Sheriff.

But we'll see in due time, just a few minutes before the game starts.

With the Sabres, on the other hand, we've been given a hint. We expect to see Logan Stanley take Conor Timmins' spot for tonight's game in Buffalo.

But we'll have confirmation later.

Remember that the team that wins tonight's game will then have two chances to clinch the series, which continues Saturday in Montreal and—if necessary—Monday in Buffalo.

Experience won't be a huge factor since both teams are young. May the best team win.


In a nutshell

– We're on the same page.

– Ouch.

– Oh boy.

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