Blue Jackets at Canadiens projected lineups: 5 changes and a playoff atmosphere in Montreal
The blue jackets arrive in Montreal with a lineup that has been reshaped after a 5-0 loss in Buffalo, while the Canadiens return home with playoff qualification already secured and the crowd expecting a late-season edge. That contrast gives Saturday night’s meeting a sharper edge than a typical April game. Columbus is trying to steady itself through adjustments, while Montreal is using its final home date of the regular season as a staging point before the postseason. The setting is less about surprise than timing, and the timing is different for both teams.
Projected lineups point to contrasting priorities
Columbus is expected to keep the changes it made during Thursday’s loss at Buffalo, with coach Rick Bowness indicating the club will stay with the updated forward structure. Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli and Isac Lundestrom are projected together on the top line, while Cole Sillinger, Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen form the second unit. Mason Marchment, Boone Jenner and Conor Garland are listed on the third line, and Miles Wood, Sean Monahan and Kent Johnson round out the forwards.
The blue jackets also have a notable list of scratches and injuries. Egor Zamula, Luca Del Bel Belluz and Zach Aston-Reese are scratched, while Damon Severson, Dmitri Voronkov and Mathieu Olivier remain injured. On the blue line, the adjustments suggest a team trying to find a workable balance after being shut out in its previous outing.
Montreal’s projected group appears more settled. Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky are listed on the top line, followed by Alexandre Texier, Alex Newhook and Ivan Demidov. Josh Anderson, Jake Evans and Kirby Dach make up the third unit, with Joe Veleno, Phillip Danault and Oliver Kapanen on the fourth line. Zachary Bolduc, Brendan Gallagher, Samuel Montembeault and Kaiden Guhle are scratched, while Alexander Carrier and Patrik Laine are injured.
Why this game matters now
The Canadiens enter the night from a different place entirely. Their playoff spot is already locked in, and this is their final home game of the regular season before Tuesday’s trip to Philadelphia. That makes Saturday’s game less about qualification and more about rhythm, confidence and the tone they want to carry into the postseason.
Montreal clinched a Stanley Cup playoff berth for the second straight season on April 5, when the Minnesota Wild defeated the Detroit Red Wings. The Canadiens secured that place with six games left, fueled by a late-season surge that included an eight-game winning streak. In practical terms, that means the club has already earned the right to prepare for what comes next. In emotional terms, it gives the Bell Centre crowd one more chance to treat the night like a preview rather than a farewell.
The blue jackets, by contrast, are still navigating the consequences of a difficult result and the lineup response that followed. The reshuffling is not presented as a dramatic reset, but it does show a team searching for traction. That alone makes the matchup intriguing: one side is consolidating, the other is adjusting.
What the blue jackets are trying to fix
The most revealing detail may be where the lineup changes sit. Fantilli’s line gets a fresh look, Sillinger moves from the first line to the second, Heinen shifts down to the third, and Johnson slides to the fourth. Those are not cosmetic moves; they indicate an attempt to redistribute responsibility after a game in which Columbus struggled to generate the response it wanted. For the blue jackets, the question is whether that new arrangement can stabilize the group quickly enough to matter in a setting where Montreal is likely to play with confidence.
At the same time, the injuries matter because they narrow the room for experimentation. With Severson, Voronkov and Olivier unavailable, and Zamula scratched again, the blue jackets are working within limitations rather than from a position of full choice. That can affect both matchups and momentum, especially against a Canadiens team that is carrying the energy of a home crowd and a successful stretch run.
Montreal’s challenge is different. The Canadiens do not need to chase a playoff spot, but they do need to protect the habits that got them here. The team’s late surge and strong young roster have already shifted expectations, and the lineup suggests continuity rather than a scramble. In that sense, the game becomes a test of whether the Canadiens can preserve pace while the calendar moves them toward the playoffs.
What fans and the postseason atmosphere add
Outside the Bell Centre, anticipation is part of the story. Fans gathered ahead of puck drop, treating the matchup as the last home glimpse of a team that has already given them a reason to believe. One supporter from outside Montreal described the experience as both exciting and nerve-racking, while another said the team should handle business again after Thursday night’s win. Those reactions matter because they show how quickly a regular-season finale can take on postseason overtones.
The broader impact reaches beyond one night. Montreal’s young core has already changed the tone around the club, and Nick Suzuki’s 90-point season is a clear marker of that rise. The combination of a secured playoff berth, a final home date and a confident crowd gives the Canadiens a chance to reinforce their identity before the playoffs begin. For the blue jackets, the same game is about repairing structure and finding signs that the changes can hold.
That is why this meeting feels like more than a routine late-season stop. One team is entering the stretch with stability and belief, while the other is still trying to settle its lines after a setback. If the blue jackets can make those adjustments work in Montreal, it would offer a useful sign. If not, the Canadiens may leave home ice with even more momentum than they brought in.
