Canadiens reunite Markov, Subban; Murray in lineup

PITTSBURGH -- The Montreal Canadiens will make several lineup changes entering their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday at Consol Energy Center.

Defensemen P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov will reunite to form a pairing Montreal utilized during a 10-game unbeaten streak from Nov. 19 to Dec. 7. Former Penguins defenseman Douglas Murray will skate after being scratched on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"It's a little special when [you compete] against your buddies and there are bragging rights on the line," said Murray, who will be paired with Francis Bouillon. "I don't think you have to warn anybody in this locker room about [Pittsburgh]. They've been a top team for a long time and they're up in the standings again."

Forward Louis Leblanc will also enter Montreal's lineup after being recalled from the American Hockey League on Tuesday. Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu will play in his second consecutive game since being recalled from the AHL on Friday.

"He has the assets to play in the NHL," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "We want to make sure he's playing the same way he was playing in the American League and focusing on his defensive game, his positioning. In the first game in Toronto, he did very well."

The only likely change to Pittsburgh's lineup will be the addition of defenseman Deryk Engelland on the fourth line. Engelland, who was a healthy scratch in the Penguins' 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday, skated in place of forward Jayson Megna at right wing.

"You're still thinking a lot and trying to read, if it's a forecheck, who's going," Engelland said. "It's still a little bit of a read for me instead of just react. No matter what, you want to be in shape. It's definitely different playing forward, you're skating up and down the ice and as a D-man, you're battling a lot more."

Chuck Kobasew, who has not scored a point since scoring a goal in each of Pittsburgh’s first two games of the season, will remain on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz.

Here are the expected lineups for the Penguins and Canadiens:

PENGUINS

Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Chuck Kobasew

Jussi Jokinen – Evgeni Malkin – James Neal

Taylor Pyatt – Brandon Sutter – Tanner Glass

Craig Adams – Zach Sill – Deryk Engelland

Rob Scuderi – Kris Letang

Brooks Orpik – Paul Martin

Olli Maatta – Matt Niskanen

Marc-Andre Fleury

Jeff Zatkoff

Scratched: Robert Bortuzzo, Jayson Megna

Injured: Beau Bennett (wrist/hand), Chris Conner (hand), Pascal Dupuis (ACL), Joe Vitale (upper body), Brian Gibbons (lower body), Andrew Ebbett (broken ankle), Tomas Vokoun (pelvis)

CANADIENS

Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Brendan Gallagher

Lars Eller – Tomas Plekanec – Brian Gionta

Rene Bourque – Danny Briere – Brandon Prust

Louis Leblanc – Michael Bournival – Travis Moen

Andrei Markov – P.K. Subban

Nathan Beaulieu – Josh Gorges

Francis Bouillon – Douglas Murray

Carey Price

Peter Budaj

Scratched: Alexei Emelin, Raphael Diaz

Injured: Davis Drewiske (shoulder), Alex Galchenyuk (hand), Ryan White (upper body)