Blue Jackets at Canadiens preview

BLUE JACKETS (6-8-3) at CANADIENS (9-5-3)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TSN2, RDS, FS-O, NHL.TV

Weber did not take part in the morning skate after missing practice because of illness Monday, but Montreal coach Claude Julien said he will likely play against Columbus.
The 34-year-old defenseman scored his 100th and 101st power-play goals in a 3-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, the Canadiens' fifth win in seven games (5-1-1).
The Blue Jackets will be without forward Nick Foligno, who will serve the first of a three-game suspension for elbowing Colorado Avalanche forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare on Saturday.
Columbus has one win in the past seven games (1-5-1). The Blue Jackets have been outscored 26-14 over that stretch.

Players to watch

Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins makes his first start since being recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Monday. He is 0-1-2 with a 3.91 goals-against average and .882 save percentage in four games this season with Columbus.
Canadiens goalie Carey Price is 6-2-1 with a 2.36 GAA, .924 save percentage and one shutout in his past nine starts. He needs one win to tie Harry Lumley (330) for 26th place on the NHL all-time list.

They said it

"It's going to be a very intense game, two hard-working teams, but we've got things to work on." -- Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois
"Any time you play a team that's below the playoff line I think you've got to be worried. They're going to be a hungry team and a desperate team. I know if we were in that situation we'd be coming out pretty hungry, so I think you have to be prepared." -- Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot

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Blue Jackets projected lineup

Gustav Nyquist -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Sonny Milano -- Boone Jenner -- Josh Anderson
Alexandre Texier -- Alex Wennberg -- Cam Atkinson
Eric Robinson -- Riley Nash -- Emil Bemstrom
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Vladislav Gavrikov -- David Savard
Scott Harrington -- Dean Kukan
Elvis Merzlikins
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Ryan Murray, Kole Sherwood
Injured: Brandon Dubinsky (wrist), Markus Nutivaara (head)
Suspended: Nick Foligno

Canadiens projected lineup

Jonathan Drouin -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Paul Byron-- Max Domi -- Joel Armia
Tomas Tatar -- Nick Suzuki -- Artturi Lehkonen
Ryan Poehling -- Nate Thompson -- Nick Cousins
Victor Mete -- Shea Weber
Ben Chiarot -- Jeff Petry
Brett Kulak -- Cale Fleury
Carey Price
Keith Kinkaid
Scratched: Jordan Weal, Mike Reilly, Christian Folin
Injured: Jesperi Kotkaniemi (groin)

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Status report

The Blue Jackets assigned defenseman Adam Clendening to Cleveland and activated Murray (hand) from injured reserve Tuesday. Murray, who was out the past six games, could play. Robinson will make his season debut. … If Weber plays, the Canadiens will use the same lineup as Saturday.

Stat pack

Nyquist has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in eight road games. … Weber has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past six games. … Tatar has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past seven games.