Devils at Canadiens preview
Montreal goes for fourth straight victory; New Jersey has won two of past three
by Sean Farrell / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
DEVILS (6-8-4) at CANADIENS (11-5-3)
7 p.m. ET; CITY, SNE, TVAS, MSG+, NHL.TV
The Game
The Montreal Canadiens will try for their fourth straight win when they face the New Jersey Devils at Bell Centre on Saturday in the second of back-to-back games for each team.
Montreal, which is 7-1-1 in its past nine games following a 5-2 win at the Washington Capitals on Friday, will be without forward Jonathan Drouin, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday after sustaining an upper-body injury against Washington.
New Jersey defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Friday and has won two of its past three games.
Players to watch
Devils forward Nico Hischier has four goals in six games against Montreal.
Canadiens forward Tomas Tatar has six points (two goals, four assists) during a three-game point streak, including his first four-point game (one goal, three assists) in the NHL on Friday. He has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his past nine games.
They said it
"It'll be fun. Obviously, he's a good friend and a good player, but it'll feel good to put one past him [Saturday]." -- Devils forward Blake Coleman about facing Canadiens goalie and former New Jersey teammate Keith Kinkaid
"I'm just trying to go out there every day and prove that I can play the center position, focus on the defensive side first and then let my offense do the rest." -- Canadiens rookie forward Nick Suzuki
Devils projected lineup
Taylor Hall -- Jack Hughes -- Kyle Palmieri
John Hayden -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Blake Coleman -- Travis Zajac -- Nikita Gusev
Miles Wood -- Pavel Zacha -- Wayne Simmonds
Andy Greene -- Damon Severson
Will Butcher -- P.K. Subban
Mirco Mueller -- Matt Tennyson
Mackenzie Blackwood
Cory Schneider
Scratched: John Hayden, Colton White, Jesper Boqvist
Injured: Sami Vatanen (upper body), Connor Carrick (finger), Kevin Rooney (upper body)
Canadiens projected lineup
Tomas Tatar -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Max Domi -- Joel Armia
Charles Hudon -- Nick Suzuki -- Artturi Lehkonen
Nick Cousins -- Nate Thompson -- Jordan Weal
Ben Chiarot -- Shea Weber
Victor Mete -- Jeff Petry
Brett Kulak -- Cale Fleury
Keith Kinkaid
Carey Price
Scratched: Mike Reilly, Christian Folin
Injured: Jonathan Drouin (upper body), Paul Byron (lower body)
Status report
Neither team held a morning skate. ... Hudon was recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League on Saturday and will replace Drouin. ... Kotkaniemi returns after missing seven games with a groin injury.
Stat pack
The Devils are 1-2-1 in the second of back-to-back games this season; the Canadiens are 1-2-0. … Hall has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 14 games against Montreal. ... Weber has seven points (four goals, three assists) during a five-game point streak.