Photo credit: NHL

We have an update just a few hours before the game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers.

We’ve had a few announcements regarding the lineups for both teams, especially for Martin St-Louis’ squad..

We’ve also had confirmation that Samuel Montembeault will be in goal for the home team.

A huge change for the Florida Panthers

Regarding the Panthers’ lineup, we have some good news. It will NOT be Sergei Bobrovsky in net for them, but rather Vitek Vanecek, who is a significantly weaker goaltender.

Obviously, that doesn’t guarantee a Canadiens win, but there’s no doubt it gives Montreal a little extra chance.

That’s a fact.

Check out his stats this season:

As for Sergei Bobrovsky, he has a goals-against average of 2.44 per game (compared to 3.75 for Vanecek), a save percentage of .907 (compared to .884 for Vanecek), and 31 wins this season (compared to 4 for Vanecek).

Vitek Vanecek in net and Matthew Tkachuk seemingly out against the Montreal Canadiens

Let’s hope this helps the Canadiens pick up two huge points tonight, especially at home!

Also, take note of their offensive combinations:

Verhaeghe – Barkov – Reinhart

Samoskevich – Bennett – Marchand

Luostarinen – Lundell – Boqvist

Greer – Sturm – Rodrigues

Nosek – Gadjovich

All signs point to Matthew Tkachuk NOT being in the lineup either, even though he skated at the Bell Centre earlier today.

It’s shaping up to be a promising night!