Marc Dumont
The Montreal Canadiens (40-21-10) will face the Nashville Predators (34-29-9) on Saturday night, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.
While the Habs are in good shape when it comes to their playoff odds, and are likely to qualify for a second consecutive season, it’s the opposite situation in Nashville, where the Predators are once again set to miss the springtime.
When Lane Hutson registered his 70th point of the season in Montreal’s crucial win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, he became the third Canadiens player to reach the 70-point mark this season, alongside Nick Suzuki (84) and Cole Caufield (76). The Preds, on the other hand, are yet to see any of their players hit 70 points, with veteran Ryan O’Reilly leading the underwhelming charge (66).
The Canadiens own a better powerplay, score more goals, allow their opponents to score fewer, and win more faceoffs than the Predators, which may give you the impression that Saturday night’s game will be an easy one, but that’s a mistake in a forced-parity league such as the NHL.
This is a classic trap game for the Habs, especially when we consider they have a very hard time starting games on the right foot. Montreal loves to play behind the eight-ball, offering their best performances when they’re facing adversity. This unorthodox style of play has led to several exciting wins this year, but it’s clearly a risky strategy.
Lineup Changes
Head coach Martin St-Louis intends to hold his cards close to his chest through the final stretch of the regular season, which makes lineup updates a little more challenging.
However, Jacob Fowler was the first goaltender to leave the ice at practice, usually a strong indication that he’s set to start the upcoming game.
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Zach Bolduc – Jake Evans – Josh Anderson
Joe Veleno – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher
Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson
Kaiden Guhle – Alex Carrier
Jayden Struble- Lane Hutson
Jakub Dobes
Nashville Predators Projected Lineup
Steven Stamkos – Ryan O’Reilly – Luke Evangelista
Filip Forsberg – Matthew Wood – Jonathan Marchessault
Zachary L’Heureux – Erik Haula – Tyson Jost
Reid Schaefer – Fedor Svechkov – Joakim Kemell
Brady Skjei – Roman Josi
Nicolas Hague – Nick Perbix
Adam Wilsby – Ryan Ufko
Juuse Saros
How To Watch The Habs Vs. The Preds
The Montreal Canadiens versus the Nashville Predators, Thursday, March 26, 2026, will be aired on RDS and TSN2. An instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Sportsnaut as soon as the final whistle is blown.
