Blues at Canadiens preview

BLUES (1-2-2) at CANADIENS (3-1-1)
7 p.m. ET; SN1, RDS, FS-MW, NHL.TV

Price backed up Antti Niemi in Montreal's 7-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday after missing one game because of the flu. He is 1-1-1 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in three starts.
Forward Jaden Schwartz returns after missing two games with a lower-body injury and center Tyler Bozak is expected to play his 600th NHL game for the Blues, who start a three-game road trip through Canada hoping to avoid a third straight loss.
Goalie Jake Allen starts for St. Louis. Allen is 1-1-2 with a 4.13 GAA and .878 save percentage in four starts.

Players to watch

Blues forward Alexander Steen has four points (two goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak.
Canadiens forward Tomas Tatar has six points (three goals, three assists) in consecutive three-point games.

They said it

"I think they're playing some good hockey right now. They're fast, they're skilled, so we've got to be prepared and be ready and have our skating legs for tonight." -- Blues forward Brayden Schenn
"They've got some big forwards over there and some big guys in general, so I think we just have to play hard tonight and win our battles, be hard to play against out there." -- Canadiens defenseman Noah Juulsen

Blues projected lineup

Jordan Kyrou -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- David Perron
Alexander Steen -- Tyler Bozak -- Pat Maroon
Sammy Blais -- Ivan Barbashev -- Zach Sanford
Jay Bouwmeester -- Alex Pietrangelo
Joel Edmundson -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Jordan Schmaltz
Jake Allen
Chad Johnson
Scratched:Jakub Jerabek, Robert Thomas
Injured:Robert Bortuzzo (lower body), Robby Fabbri (groin), Carl Gunnarsson (knee, hip), Nikita Soshnikov (concussion), Oskar Sundqvist (concussion)

Canadiens projected lineup

Tomas Tatar -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin -- Max Domi -- Artturi Lehkonen
Paul Byron -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Joel Armia
Charles Hudon -- Tomas Plekanec -- Matthew Peca
Karl Alzner -- Jeff Petry
Mike Reilly -- Noah Juulsen
Xavier Ouellet -- Jordie Benn
Carey Price
Antti Niemi
Scratched:Victor Mete, Nikita Scherbak
Injured: Andrew Shaw (flu), Shea Weber (knee), Nicolas Deslauriers (facial fracture), David Schlemko (knee)

Status report

Bortuzzo did not take part in an optional morning skate and will not play. … Canadiens coach Claude Julien would not confirm any lineup changes, though Alzner will likely make his season debut. … Mete remained on the ice at the end of an optional skate along with Shaw, who did not play Monday.

Stat pack

Schenn has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past three games. … Perron has four goals in three games. … Tarasenko has four points (two goals, two assists) in four games. … Petry has five assists in his past four games.