The NHL Trade Deadline is less than 24 hours away, and the Montreal Canadiens should have options on adding to their roster before the 3 PM ET deadline. However, after the game against the Sharks on Tuesday night, it was clear that they need to make some changes to their lines.
On Thursday, the team had practice ahead of their next game, Friday evening against the Anaheim Ducks. According to Eric Engels with Sportsnet, the Canadiens made some changes to their lines.
It will be interesting to see if they keep those lines for the game tomorrow night, but for now, let's take a closer look at each.
Cole Caufield - Nick Suzuki - Juraj Slafkovsky
The Canadiens have been trying to find another wing to put on the top line with Caufield and Suzuki. Slafkovsky has played there some this season, but the Canadiens seemed determined to keep him on a line with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.
However, as players like Kirby Dach and Alexandre Texier struggle to maintain a consistent presence there, the coaching staff was really left with no choice.
These three have the second-most minutes of ice time together this season of any lines in Montreal and have the second-best xGoals % of 59.4%. This move certainly makes the top line better but it raises the question of what it does for the other lines.
Alex Newhook - Oliver Kapanen - Ivan Demidov
Coming out of the Olympic break, the Canadiens welcomed back Alex Newhook, who had been out since November 13th with an injury. In his first three games back, Newhook has four points with two goals and two assists.
This recent stretch is probably one of the big reasons why the Canadiens felt comfortable moving Slafkovsky off this line. The veteran winger joins Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov, with both young players having career seasons.
If Newhook can keep his production while Slafkovsky elevates the open spot next to Caufield and Suzuki, this would be the best-case scenario for Montreal.
Zachary Bolduc - Jake Evans - Kirby Dach
The third line, according to Engels, was Zachary Bolduc, Jake Evans, and Kirby Dach, which has plenty of intrigue around it. After the Olympic break, Bolduc was a healthy scratch to create room in the lineup for Newhook.
It was an interesting decision because Bolduc had seemingly turned a corner heading into the Olympic break and was playing much better. He had four points in the last five games before the Olympic break, and he returned to the lineup in the game against Washington to add another assist.
This is also the line that probably sees the most change if the Canadiens want to get players like Alexandre Texier or Joe Veleno back into the lineup.
Josh Anderson - Phillip Danault - Brendan Gallagher
The last line has been pretty consistent for the last 10 games or so and this is a defensive heavy line. The Canadiens are looking for this line to matchup and shut down opposing team's best lines.
As a fourth line, this is a good veteran line for the Canadiens to have but their impact is probably limited moving forward.
There is no guarantee that they will roll these lines out against the Anaheim Ducks, especially if there are trades made between now and then, but the lines make a lot of sense. It is something they could stick with through the remainder of the season and into the playoffs.