Upon making their final training camp cuts, the Montreal Canadiens have unveiled their potential opening night lines.
With the home opener just around the corner, the Canadiens took to the ice for their first official practice of the season on Monday morning.
According to Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette, here’s how the Habs’ forward trios and defensive pairings shaped up at practice:
Forwards
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook – Kirby Dach – Joel Armia
Alex Barre-Boulet – Christian Dvorak – Josh Anderson
Emil Heineman – Jake Evans – Brendan Gallagher
Defence
Mike Matheson – Kaiden Guhle
Lane Hutson – David Savard
Arber Xhekaj – Justin Barron
#Habs forward lines and defence pairings at practice this morning #HabsIO
Slafkovsky – Suzuki – Caufield
Newhook – Dach – Armia
BarrĂ©-Boulet – Dvorak – Anderson
Heineman – Evans – GallagherMatheson – Guhle
Hutson – Savard
Xhekaj – Barron— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) October 7, 2024
As things currently stand, Montreal’s top line of Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield should remain intact after the trio found chemistry last season.
Over on Line 2, with forward Patrik Laine out with an injury for the next two to three months, Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis promoted fellow Finn Joel Armia to a top-six spot, alongside Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach.
Meanwhile, newcomer Alex BarrĂ©-Boulet found a spot on the Habs’ third trio.
Finally, with Joshua Roy being sent down to the Laval Rocket and Rafael Harvey-Pinard dealing with a long-term injury, Emil Heineman avoided being cut, finding a home on the fourth line with veterans Jake Evans and Brendan Gallagher.
Michael Pezzetta and rookie Oliver Kapanen could be healthy scratches on opening night as both forwards skated as extras.
Over on the backend, Mike Matheson and Kaiden Guhle appear to be returning as Montreal’s top pairing. Right behind them was a duo of dependable veteran blueliner David Savard and highly touted rookie Lane Hutson.
Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron rounded out the final defensive pairing as Jayden Struble missed practice for a therapy day.
The Canadiens open their season at home on Wednesday with a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.