The Montreal Canadiens (19-12-4) are once again set to face the Pittsburgh Penguins (14-11-9), the second leg of back-to-back games between the two teams.
On Saturday night, rookie netminder Jacob Fowler stole the show, stopping all 30 of the shots sent his way to secure his first career shutout. The offence was powered by Owen Beck’s first career NHL goal, as well as a pair of markers from Josh Anderson, a very encouraging sign when it comes to providing some semblance of secondary scoring.
Not only did Fowler have an excellent night, he also prevented Sidney Crosby from tying Mario Lemieux for the most points in Penguins franchise history. Crosby is currently sitting at 1,722 points, just one shy of Lemieux’s record.
Seeing as Crosby almost always produces when he plays the Habs, Martin St-Louis’ team will have to keep a close eye on him, or Sunday’s matchup may turn into a revenge game for one of the best players in league history.
Starting Goalie, Injury Updates
Jakub Dobes is expected to start, though it should be noted that Samuel Montembeault’s conditioning stint in the AHL has come to an end. The Habs will keep all three goalies in the NHL until the Christmas break is over, and Montembeualt will join the team as they travel to Tampa Bay on December 28.
As for the skaters, Jake Evans did not make the trip to Pittsburgh, which led to a call-up for Samuel Blais. In nine games with the Laval Rocket, Blais scored three goals and five assists, while also adding an important physical element to the mix.
For the view from the other side of the rink, don’t forget to visit Pittsburgh Hockey Now.
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Zachary Bolduc
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Alex Texier – Owen Beck – Brendan Gallagher
Samuel Blais – Joe Veleno – Josh Anderson
Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson
Lane Hutson – Alex Carrier
Arber Xhekaj – Adam Engstrom
Jakub Dobes
Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lineup
Tommy Novak – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha – Rickard Rakell – Justin Brazeau
Rutger McGroarty – Ben Kindel – Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar – Kevin Hayes – Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon – Erik Karlsson
Brett Kulak – Kris Letang
Ryan Shea – Connor Clifton
Artus Silovs
How To Watch The Habs Vs. The Penguins
The Montreal Canadiens versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sunday, December 21, 2025, 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.
