Juraj Slafkovsky of the Montreal Canadiens is sidelined due to an upper body injury and will be reassessed in a week. The injury occurred during practice, but he managed to contribute two assists in a recent game against the New York Islanders.

In his absence, coach Martin St. Louis has promoted Kirby Dach to the first line, while rookie Oliver Kapanen will take over as the second line center. Michael Pezzetta is also set to make his season debut on the fourth line.