Canadiens at Blue Jackets

CANADIENS (20-42-11) at BLUE JACKETS (34-33-6)

Canadiens projected lineup
Cole Caufield -- Nick Suzuki -- Rem Pitlick
Mike Hoffman -- Jake Evans -- Josh Anderson
Brendan Gallagher -- Christian Dvorak -- Joel Armia
Paul Byron -- Ryan Poehling -- Tyler Pitlick
Joel Edmundson -- Jeff Petry
Alexander Romanov -- David Savard
Jordan Harris -- Chris Wideman
Sam Montembeault
Cayden Primeau
Scratched: William Lagesson, Kale Clague, Laurent Dauphin, Mathieu Perreault, Corey Schueneman, Michael Pezzetta
Injured: Jake Allen (groin), Carey Price (knee), Jonathan Drouin (upper body), Justin Barron (ankle)
Blue Jackets projected lineup
Gustav Nyquist -- Jack Roslovic -- Patrik Laine
Jakub Voracek -- Cole Sillinger -- Emil Bemstrom
Kent Johnson -- Justin Danforth -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Eric Robinson -- Brendan Gaunce -- Carson Meyer
Zach Werenski -- Andrew Peeke
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Adam Boqvist
Jake Bean -- Nick Blankenburg
Elvis Merzlikins
J-F Berube
Scratched: Dean Kukan, Jake Christiansen, Gavin Bayreuther, Gabriel Carlsson
Injured: Alexandre Texier (hand), Boone Jenner (back), Yegor Chinakhov (upper body)
COVID-19 protocol: Sean Kuraly
Status report
Pitlick goes in for forward Jesse Ylonen, who was loaned to Laval of the American Hockey League on Monday, and Wideman replaces the defenseman Schueneman. ... Johnson, the No. 5 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, and Blankenburg will make their NHL debuts after each signed his entry-level contract Friday.