Montreal Canadiens announce lineup for their first pre-season game against the Philadelphia Flyers

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Julien Trekker
September 23, 2024 (11:31)

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The Montreal Canadiens announced the lineup for their first pre-season game against the Philadelphia Flyers, confirming Patrik Laine's and Kirby Dach's fate.

After a very long summer filled with great acquisitions in Montreal, the Habs are finally gearing up for their first pre-season game of the year.

President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton and General Manager Kent Hughes did a great job filling the prospect pool, giving good reasons for fans to attend the game at the Bell Centre, even in the pre-season. They also managed to acquire Patrik Laine, who's looking to bounce back from a tough journey with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Reporter Eric Engels confirmed that Laine will be playing tonight in a post revealing Martin St. Louis' full lineup.

Check it out:

"Newhook-Dach-Laine
Roy-Dvorak-Anderson
Heineman-Kapanen-ABB
Davidson-Condotta-Tuch

Hutson-Savard
Xhekaj-Barron
Engstrom-Mailloux
Primeau
Dobes"

In addition to Laine's debut, tonight's game will be marked by Kirby Dach's return, who suffered a season-ending injury in the second game of the last campaign. Last year, Dach was one of the most exciting players to watch during the pre-season. If he hadn't been injured, the team probably would have won a lot more games. As for Laine, he's an elite player, and if he manages to find his rhythm, he could lead the Habs to their breakout season.

But let's get back to tonight's clash. Interesting prospects Joshua Roy, Oliver Kapanen, and Luke Tuch will face the Flyers tonight. While Roy already played 23 games with the Canadiens last year, his season ended quickly after an injury forced him to miss the last month of action. In that time, he showed a lot of potential, managing to score nine points, including four goals in his first NHL stint.

On the blue line, the Habs decided they wouldn't make things easy for the Flyers by sending Lane Hutson alongside veteran David Savard, their top enforcer Arber Xhekaj, as well as pairing the two top contenders Adam Engstrom and Logan Mailloux.

It's safe to say that a big challenge awaits the Flyers in Montreal. The Canadiens' coaching staff did a great job combining veterans and prospects to create a dangerous yet balanced lineup.

John Tortorella and his team were in Washington yesterday to face the Capitals and won 6-2. However, they won't have the same lineup. Torts decided to remove Matvei Michkov, who scored his first NHL points last night, and added many players from Quebec, such as Sean Couturier, Nicolas Deslauriers, Caleb Desnoyers, Anthony Richard, and Jacob Gaucher. Former Canadien Ryan Poehling and top prospect Oliver Bonk will also be on the ice.

This is an exciting matchup to start the pre-season in Montreal, but hype is already through the roof for the official home opener on October 9th against the Toronto Maple Leafs. While we wait for that promising game, we still have a few pre-season clashes to go through. It starts tonight, but the other half of the team should be in action tomorrow, as they host the New Jersey Devils.