Dominique Ducharme made three changes, two of his choosing and another one that he was forced to, from Friday night’s overtime loss. Leading Canuck slayer Tyler Toffoli picked up a lower-body injury late in that game, which sidelined him for Saturday. He was replaced in the lineup by Artturi Lehkonen, making the third line once more completely Finnish. Meanwhile, Carey Price moved into net to replace Jake Allen, while Victor Mete replaced Xavier Ouellet on the blue line.
With that overtime loss still lingering and Toffoli being out, the omens went from bad to worse when you could see the Canadiens dress in their dreaded Reverse Retro jerseys.