The Montreal Canadiens are adjusting their lineup for the game against the Florida Panthers.
Defenseman Arber Xhekaj will be scratched for this game, as the team will play with twelve forwards instead. Mike Pezzetta will take Xhekaj`s place in the lineup.
After Kaiden Guhle rejoined the team, the Canadiens previously opted for eleven forwards and seven defensemen, which resulted in Xhekaj being the extra defenseman. Consequently, he had limited playing time, only seeing 3 minutes and 52 seconds of ice time in the last game.
Here’s the expected lineup against Carolina:
Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky
Gallagher-Dvorak-Anderson
Heineman-Newhook-Laine
Pezzetta-Evans-Armia
Matheson-Carrier
Guhle-Hutson
Struble-Savard
Montembeault
The Canadiens are currently two points behind the New York Rangers in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with two games in hand.
