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Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Game 6 Preview

By Maria Bouabdo|
TORONTO, ON - MAY 20: The Montreal Canadiens bench celebrates a short handed goal by Paul Byron #41 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in game one of the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 20, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadiens defeated the Maple Leafs 2-1 to take a 1-0 series lead. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 20: The Montreal Canadiens bench celebrates a short handed goal by Paul Byron #41 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in game one of the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 20, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadiens defeated the Maple Leafs 2-1 to take a 1-0 series lead. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing at the Bell Centre tonight in front of 2,500 fans, so the energy should be a lot different.

Jake Evans was available to play in tonight’s game, but it doesn’t look like he will be in tonight. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who has been replacing him, has scored two goals in four games played this series. Evans also hasn’t played in over a week, so it makes sense if Head Coach Dominique Ducharme doesn’t want to risk playing a rusty guy over one who has been scoring.

Brett Kulak will be replacing an injured Jon Merrill on the third defensive pair with Erik Gustafsson.

The Montreal Canadiens’ projected lineup is:

Tatar-Danault-Gallagher
Toffoli-Suzuki-Caufield
Byron-Kotkaniemi-Anderson
Armia-Staal-Perry

Edmundson-Petry
Chiarot-Weber
Kulak-Gustafsson

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ projected lineup is:

Players to watch out for tonight are going to be William Nylander for the Leafs, and Joel Armia for the Habs. Nylander has been the Leafs’ top scorer, with four goals this series, and has been getting plenty of scoring opportunities, so the Canadiens need to surround him and shut him down more.

Armia is also the top scorer for the Habs, scoring two goals in Game 5. He might be motivated to score a couple more goals in this big game, so he will definitely be someone to keep an eye on.

Carey Price and Jack Campbell are expected to start in net again, as both have been incredible, giving their respective teams everything they need and more.

If the Habs are able to capitalize off of every mistake the Leafs make, and are able to shut down the Leafs, it should be enough for another win and a chance at winning the series.

The referees tonight are Kevin Pollock and Eric Furlatt, and the linesmen are Kiel Murchison and Scott Cherrey.

The game is set to start at 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be available in Canada in English on Sportsnet and CBC, after all, it’s Hockey Night in Canada. And in French on TVA Sports.

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