Matheson's absence is the hole in that defence. TVA's Renaud Lavoie had him missing about 2 weeks as of October 31, so Saturday falls inside that window, and he's still listed out today. The Habs have been short a minutes-eater on the back end ever since. The good news up front is Nick Suzuki, who returned against Utah after missing 6 games with a hand injury. Ivan Demidov is still on IR with a foot injury but skated this week and could rejoin team practice next week, per RDS.
The crease looks like it has an answer now. Morning-of projections have Jacob Fowler in net for Montreal, which fits a job he had more or less taken from Jakub Dobes, who had started just 1 of Montreal's previous 6 before getting the Utah game and went into that one 2-2-2 with an .853 save percentage. Sam Montembeault is still on IR with a lower-body injury. Going back to Fowler for a road trip down the 401 tells you exactly how much the Habs trust the backup.
Toronto's side is less flattering. The Leafs fell 3-2 to Utah on Nick Schmaltz's power-play goal with under 7 minutes left, which left them 8-7-2 and 1-3-0 in their last 4 as of that loss. Auston Matthews didn't sugarcoat it afterward: "We just didn't really have our legs or the energy needed to compete." That came in their first game home after a 2-2-0 road trip, which is not a good sign for a team that should be getting a lift out of its own building.
There's still plenty to work with. Jack Roslovic scored both Toronto goals against Utah and has points in 7 straight, Matthews' point streak is at 5, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves on a night his team got outshot. The lineup is the thing to watch at warmups. John Tavares skated with Nick Paul and William Nylander at Wednesday's practice, but a game-day lineup page lists him on IR with a lower-body injury, which would scramble that line before it ever plays a shift. Dakota Joshua is back from injury, and Roslovic sat out practice for maintenance.
Here's how it shakes out. Montreal has the form, the comeback habit and its preferred goalie back in the net, but a defence still missing Matheson. Toronto has a goalie playing well, 2 forwards on point streaks, a possible hole at centre and a team-wide energy problem its best player admitted to on the record. Puck drops at 7:00 PM ET on Saturday, November 7, and whichever of those weaknesses shows up first probably decides it.
