The Montreal Canadiens (22-12-6) are set to face the St. Louis Blues (16-18-8), with the puck drop scheduled for 4 pm ET.
The Habs are fresh off two important wins versus the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers, and will aim to keep the good times going as they take on the struggling Blues. Montreal has managed to bank 50 points in 40 games at this point in the season, whereas the Blues have only accumulated 40 points in 42 games.
That being said, there’s no such thing as an easy win in the NHL, as evidenced by the last time these two teams met, a 4-3 win for St. Louis. The Canadiens had outshot the Blues 26-18, but a solid game from Jordan Binnington was enough to deny the Habs an important victory.
It should be noted the Blues played on Friday, which means the Habs will be dealing with a tired opponent, a perfect opportunity to maintain the momentum they’ve created in late December and early January.
Lineup Changes, Matheson
Seeing as it’s an early game, the Canadiens will not hold a practice prior to puck drop. Therefore, any lineup changes will only be confirmed moments before the game begins.
Jakub Dobes and Samuel Montembeault started the last two games for the Canadiens, and if the trend continues, it should be rookie netminder Jacob Fowler’s turn to guard the net.
Fowler, 21, is the only Canadiens goaltender who has managed to keep his save average above .900, not to mention a goals against average below 3. Currently, Fowler is working with a .904 save percentage, and a 2.64 goals against average.
As for injured defenceman Mike Matheson, who was hit in the head by Brad Marchand with a blatant elbow, there’s a decent chance he’ll be in uniform, since he took part in practice before the Habs took their flight to Missouri.
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Alex Texier
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Zachary Bolduc -Phillip Danault – Josh Anderson
Samuel Blais – Joe Veleno – Brendan Gallagher
Mike Matheson* – Noah Dobson
Lane Hutson – Alex Carrier
Jayden Struble – Arber Xhekaj
Jacob Fowler*
St. Louis Blues Projected Lineup
Jake Neighbours – Robert Thomas – Jordan Kyrou
Pavel Buchnevich – Brayden Schenn – Jimmy Snuggerud
Otto Stenberg – Dalibor Dvorsky – Jonatan Berggren
Alexey Toropchenko – Oskar Sundqvist – Mathieu Joseph
Philip Broberg – Colton Parayko
Cam Fowler – Justin Faulk
Tyler Tucker – Matthew Kessel
Jordan Binnington
How To Watch The Habs Vs. The Blues
The Montreal Canadiens versus the St. Louis Blues, Saturday, January 3, 2026, will be aired on TSN2 and RDS. An instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Sportsnaut as soon as the final whistle blows.
