Coyotes at Canadiens preview

COYOTES (23-22-4) at CANADIENS (27-18-5)
7:30 p.m. ET; SN1, RDS, FS-A, NHL.TV

The forward spent six seasons with the Canadiens before he was traded for forward Max Domi on June 15.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson won't play for Arizona after sustaining a lower-body injury in the second period of a 3-2 win at the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
Goalie Calvin Pickard will make his first start for the Coyotes, who are 6-1-1 in their past eight games.
Goalie Carey Price will start for Montreal, which will try for its fifth win in six games (4-1-0). Price is 6-3-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average, .948 save percentage and two shutouts in his past nine starts.

Players to watch

Coyotes forward Alex Galchenyuk has scored one goal in five games after having six points (one goal, five assists) in his previous three.
Canadiens forward Max Domi has five points (two goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak.

They said it

"The (Bell Centre) crowd is always passionate and fans here have been great. So I don't know what to expect but I'm sure it will be a lot of emotions for me." -- Coyotes forward Alex Galchenyuk on his return to Montreal
"Right now they're playing really good hockey. They're quick, they're on you, they're relentless, they feel confident, they don't give much, they're always blocking shots, lots of energy for a young team, so I think you need to respect that."-- Canadiens coach Claude Julien

Coyotes projected lineup

Clayton Keller -- Jordan Weal -- Christian Fischer
Richard Panik -- Derek Stepan -- Vinnie Hinostroza
Alex Galchenyuk -- Nick Cousins -- Conor Garland
Lawson Crouse -- Mario Kempe -- Josh Archibald
Jakob Chychrun -- Niklas Hjalmarsson
Kevin Connauton -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Jordan Oesterle -- Alex Goligoski
Calvin Pickard
Darcy Kuemper
Scratched: Laurent Dauphin](https://www.nhl.com/player/laurent-dauphin-8477460)
Injured: Christian Dvorak (pectoral), Jason Demers (knee), Michael Grabner (eye), Nick Schmaltz (knee), Brad Richardson (upper body), Antti Raanta (lower body), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (lower body)

Canadiens projected lineup

Jonathan Drouin -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Tomas Tatar -- Max Domi -- Artturi Lehkonen
Charles Hudon -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Joel Armia
Matthew Peca -- Michael Chaput -- Nicolas Deslauriers
Victor Mete
-- Shea Weber
Mike Reilly -- Jeff Petry
Brett Kulak -- Jordie Benn
Carey Price
Antti Niemi
Scratched:Kenny Agostino, Karl Alzner](https://www.nhl.com/player/karl-alzner-8473991)
Injured: Andrew Shaw (neck)
Suspended:Paul Byron

Status report

The Coyotes did not hold a morning skate. … Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said Ekman-Larsson would have tests on his knee Thursday. … Peca will take Agostino's place on the fourth line, Canadiens coach Claude Julien said.

Stat pack

Hinostroza has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past two games. … Panik has four points (one goal, three assists) in his past four games. … Tatar has four points (two goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak. … Gallagher has four points (two goals, two assists) during a four-game point streak. ... The Canadiens have allowed two goals or fewer in five of their past seven games.