The Montreal Canadiens are back in action tonight at 7:00 PM, live from the Bell Centre, as the Carolina Hurricanes come to town.

The Canes are currently in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 33-20-4, while the Canadiens sit in 7th place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 26-26-5, just five points away from a playoff spot.

Let’s not forget that there are several key storylines to follow this morning regarding the Canadiens, as four players were absent yesterday, and all four could potentially miss tonight’s game.

This includes forward Brendan Gallagher, who has temporarily left the team for personal reasons.

As a result, we have several updates to watch for today regarding potential lineup changes from Martin St-Louis.

However, one change has already been announced and confirmed.

Samuel Montembeault will start in goal tonight

See the official confirmation:

This is an interesting announcement and bad news for young goaltender Jakub Dobes, as Martin St-Louis has already broken the alternating goalie system immediately after the break.

He has now started Montembeault in back-to-back games.

Before the Four Nations Faceoff break, Dobes and Montembeault were splitting starts 50/50, with each getting one game in an alternating system.

That system now seems to be a thing of the past, and all signs point to Jakub Dobes watching games from the bench for the foreseeable future.

Montembeault is officially back as the true number one goaltender!

On top of that, there are growing speculations about a potential recall for Cayden Primeau:

Either way, this is perfectly fine.

Dobes is a young goaltender, and it was always expected that there would be ups and downs. I still firmly believe he has a very bright future ahead of him in the NHL, potentially even as a true number one goaltender down the line.