The Montreal Canadiens are set to wrap up the preseason on Saturday night with two games, with half the roster in Montreal to play the Senators and the other half in Ottawa. While a majority of the roster feels set, there are still plenty of questions for Martin St. Louis and this coaching staff that need to be answered ahead of their first game of the regular season Tuesday night.
Those decisions can be made a little easier depending on how some players perform in their respective games on Saturday night. These are three players in particular who are under the most pressure, as they are fighting for a spot in the lineup or could find themselves in the press box to begin the season.
Kirby Dach
There is no question that Kirby Dach has been one of the more talked about players on the Montreal Canadiens, and this hasn't been for good reasons. With players like Florian Xhekaj and Owen Beck looking great, there are questions about whether Dach should hold onto his spot in the lineup.
In the two preseason games, Dach has had only four shots and no points.
Were expectations higher for Dach than he has shown during his time in Montreal? Sure. Have injuries played a factor in the impact he has made? Absolutely. Do the Canadiens still believe he can contribute? Of course or they wouldn't have brought him back this summer.
The question, though, is how much longer they can wait with young players like Florian Xhekaj looking better than him in the preseason. A strong performance from Dach against the Senators can quiet the noise a bit but he is going to need to be consistent if he wants to hold onto his spot in the lineup.
David Reinbacher
The Montreal Canadiens have been without Kaiden Guhle this training camp and he likely will miss some games to begin the season. That absence has opened the door for David Reinbacher to not only earn a roster spot but also a prominent spot in the Canadiens' Top 4 on their blueline.
Recently, Reinbacher has been playing a lot alongside Lane Hutson and the coaching staff should give him another chance in the final preseason game to see if this pairing can work. If the former first-round pick plays at the level he has so far this preseason, then he should be in the lineup against the Maple Leafs.
However, the Canadiens do have other options, like this next player, and Reinbacher will need to earn that spot.
Arber Xhekaj
When the news broke that Guhle was hurt and going to miss the start of the season, it felt like it was the perfect opportunity for Arber Xhekaj to solidify himself as half of that third pair on the blueline. He is a physical presence who can bring some toughness to the Canadiens' blueline better than any other defenseman.
However, he has struggled a bit in the preseason that raises the question if he can hold onto a starting spot to begin the regular season. If Reinbacher wins the job next to Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson and Mike Matheson is the second pair, that leaves three players competing for the two spots in Jayden Struble, Alexandre Carrier, and Xhekaj.
The challenge though, is that Struble has played well leading up to the season and might have already locked up one spot. This isn't good news for Xhekaj because these two together haven't really worked well.
According to Moneypuck, last season Struble and Xhekaj had about 108 minutes of ice time together with an xGoals % of 41.1%, the second worst among defensive pairs with 100 or more minutes of ice time. However, Struble and Carrier were even worse at 36.8% in just over 93 minutes of ice time.
It will be interesting what the pairings are in both games and that could be an indication of what the coaching staff might be thinking for their final pair. However, it could all depend on performance in this final preseason game for the players.
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