Canadiens reveal lineup just before puck drop against Bruins as two players are scratched

As Martin St-Louis' squad prepares to face the Boston Bruins, two players have just been removed from the lineup.

At the warm-up in Boston, Owen Beck and Adam Engstrom were skating as extras, giving the Montreal Canadiens a clear picture of their lineup heading into Tuesday night's matchup against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.

Earlier today, Martin St-Louis mentioned a small virus going around the team and kept his lineup secret, but the warm-up provided the answer.

Up front, Cole Caufield was back on the ice, as was Brendan Gallagher, following their absence from the morning skate.

Nick Suzuki was once again skating with Caufield, and Zachary Bolduc completed that trio.

Juraj Slafkovsky was paired with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov, while Samuel Blais found himself on a unit with Joe Veleno and Gallagher.

The other major point is obviously the arrival of Phillip Danault into the picture. The 32-year-old is preparing to begin his second stint with the Canadiens, and he was used between Alexandre Texier and Josh Anderson.

Danault comes in with 0 goals and 5 assists in 30 games this season, along with a $5.5M cap hit. He is signed through the end of the 2026-2027 season, which automatically puts a spotlight on each of his first games.

On defense, Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson formed a pairing, while Lane Hutson skated with Alexandre Carrier.

Jayden Struble was with Arber Xhekaj, who continues to carry a reputation that sticks to games against Boston.

In goal, Jacob Fowler will get the start.

In short, with Beck and Engstrom sidelined, the Canadiens are going with a lineup heavier in experience, and we'll see pretty quickly if it clicks right from the opening faceoff.

More details to follow.