The Montreal Canadiens Announce Significant Lineup Changes Ahead of Tonight's Game vs. the Islanders

First off, in goal.

Head coach Martin St-Louis has announced that Cayden Primeau, not Samuel Montembeault, will be in net tonight against the New York Islanders.

See the official Habs statement.

This is quite a big vote of confidence for Primeau.

Cayden Primeau, 25 years old, was a seventh-round pick by the Montreal Canadiens in 2017.

It's always good to have some internal competition, and while Samuel Montembeault has had a great start to the season, a strong performance from number 30 could make things interesting.

We have several other situations to watch today.

Will Juraj Slafkovsky be in the lineup? He abruptly left yesterday's morning practice due to shoulder pain (after taking a shot).

Will Mike Matheson be in uniform? He didn't finish the game against the Los Angeles Kings and hasn't skated since, but he's traveling with the team (unlike Kaiden Guhle).

And speaking of Guhle, who will replace him? Will Logan Mailloux, freshly called up from the Laval Rocket, be in the lineup?

One thing is certain, we'll be monitoring all these situations for you, and you'll be the first to know.

For now, we know that there will be significant changes and that Cayden Primeau will be in goal.

We also know that unless something drastic happens, defenseman Jayden Struble will play his first game of the season tonight, and he could even have an important role.

Details to follow.