Al Montoya will get the start in goal against the Devils. The American netminder has picked up wins in his last three starts, besting Florida, Dallas and Winnipeg.
Head coach Michel Therrien made a few changes up front at practice on Thursday, featuring Phillip Danault in between Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov, while Alex Galchenyuk centered a line with Sven Andrighetto and Andrew Shaw.
On the back end, Nathan Beaulieu was reunited with Jeff Petry after the pair was split up during the game in Detroit on Monday.
The Devils, meanwhile, are returning from a productive four-game road swing in which they earned seven out of a possible eight points. After falling in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers, John Hynes' contingent downed Calgary, Vancouver and Minnesota.
Taylor Hall leads New Jersey with 29 points (11 goals and 18 assists) in 36 games. Former Habs forward Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, meanwhile, is the Devils' top goal-scorer with 12 markers on the year.
We still don't know who New Jersey will feature in goal. Corey Schneider, who has started the majority of the Devils' games, boasts a 14-14-7 record so far this season, along with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
Back on December 8, the Canadiens beat the Devils 5-2 at the Bell Centre.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on Sportsnet East and RDS, as well as TSN Radio 690 and 98,5 fm.
