Let's talk about the Canadiens' line-up: tonight, when the Nashville Predators come to town, the Canadiens will have a slightly different line-up than we've seen all season. We say this because Jayden Struble didn't work overtime at optional practice this morning. That said, Arber Xhekaj stayed with Joe Veleno, so
no overtime for Jayden Struble at optional practice this morning. Arber Xhekaj and Joe Veleno are still on the ice. @TVASports
– Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) October 16, 2025
In hockey parlance, that means Veleno won't play tonight and Struble will make his debut in 2025-2026, so it's no surprise to see Struble enter the lineup. Not only does he deserve to play, but Xhekaj has seen his playing time melt away recently. The next step was the stands. As for Veleno, he'll have to be patient for a while yet. None of the 12 forwards in the line-up deserve to go out, and the Habs have won their last three games. Turning everything upside down wouldn't necessarily have been productive. And in front of the net, there will also be a change. Jakub Dobes, who has to play once in a while and who had an excellent camp, will get a second start this season.
Jakub Dobes vs @PredsNHL @CanadiensMTL @TVASports
– Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) October 16, 2025
The Canadiens have four straight games at home, but no two games in two nights. Martin St-Louis wasn't obliged to play #2, but it's a good idea to do so, just to see what he's got.And since it certainly wasn't going to happen on Saturday night (against the Rangers), today's a good time to do it.
'Overtime'
– Interesting.Coach is setting up Zachary Bolduc's next goal in practice.


https://t.co /wCQzyHairl –
Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) October 16, 2025
– That's good.
Free puck | Blues veterans in defense of Logan Mailloux https://t.co/CHQaumfH3l –
La Presse Sports (@LaPresse_Sports) October 16, 2025
– Stability is important.
Guhle says it's nice to have stability when it comes to pairings to be able to build some chemistry. So far so good for his pairing with Lane Hutson #GoHabsGo
– Karine Hains (@KarineHains) October 16, 2025
– Wait before talking about expansion… according to the Commissioner's official statement.
Friedman asks Bettman if expansion was discussed at the NHL BOG meetings: “It wasn't discussed period… We are not on an expansion mode”
– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) October 16, 2025
– Interesting.
Patrice Bergeron on the team-first mentality of the Habs:
“If you wanna keep your core and group together, everybody has to do their part. To see that in MTL, I think that's special…It proves that they're good together, that they wanna create something special together.” pic.twitter.com/hyWEvRwcDu– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) October 16, 2025