Martin St-Louis Skates at Centre Bell Before Game 3 — Game Hockey Canadien
Martin St-Louis changed the game hockey canadien routine Sunday, pulling the Canadiens onto the ice for a 10:30 morning skate at Centre Bell ahead of Game 3. Montreal entered the night tied 1-1 with Buffalo, and puck drop was set for 7 PM at home.
Centre Bell Morning Skate
The skate was a break from the two road games in Buffalo, where St-Louis did not hold a morning session. That made the home-ice schedule the first notable shift of the series as Montreal prepared for a game that followed its 5-1 win in Game 2.
St-Louis’ timing also lined up with a roster that has already changed once in the series. Brendan Gallagher, Jayden Struble and Oliver Kapanen sat for Game 2, while Patrik Laine remained on injured reserve with an abdomen issue after being limited to 5 games and 1 point this season.
Canadiens Lineup Pressure
The lineup decisions have reached beyond one night. Gallagher finished the regular season with 7 goals and 23 points in 77 games, Struble played 59 games on defense with a plus-4 rating and was plus-3 over his last 5 healthy games before the playoff scratch, and Kapanen finished with 22 goals as a full-timer before going pointless over his last 10 games.
Montreal has also leaned on its top-end production to stay even in the series. Nick Suzuki closed the regular season with 101 points and a plus-37 rating, Cole Caufield scored 51 goals and has gone scoreless in his last 5 games, and Lane Hutson finished with 78 points on the year.
Buffalo’s Series Edge
Buffalo’s regular-season numbers make the 1-1 start look more fragile than it first appeared. The Sabres finished 50-23-9 with 109 points and a plus-47 goal differential, so Montreal’s home response now has to come against a team that carried far stronger season-long results into the matchup.
The morning skate gives St-Louis one more chance to settle the group before puck drop at Centre Bell, and the lineup choices around Gallagher, Struble, Kapanen and Laine remain the clearest signal of how Montreal plans to attack Game 3.
