Canadiens' Top Defensive Pair Could Be Troublesome

The second line of Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher and Jake Evans appears to be a bottom-six line, with the likelihood of the trio being the eventual fourth line. Unless, of course, things get swapped around, and Kapanen ends up occupying the fourth line centre role with Alex Newhook, and perhaps Joe Veleno centering the line, and splitting duties with Kapanen.

As for the third and fourth line, Owen Beck is likeliest to battle for a role right until the end, but unless he or Kapanen wows the coaching staff, a trip down to the Laval Rocket to start the AHL season appears likeliest. Sean Farrell, Filip Mesar and the trio of Jared Davidson, Alex Belzile and Lucas Condotta will be relied upon for big minutes in Laval, so they are around for the veteran presence, and Davidson for his hard-nosed play.

On the backend, the top four defenseman, maybe minus Adam Engstrom, will all be on the opening night roster, with Dobson and Matheson potentially becoming one of the Canadiens' top two defense pairs and Jayden Struble as a sixth or seventh defenseman.

Dobson and Matheson feel a little bit like a boom or bust pair; they thrive offensively, but not so much on the other side of the puck.

Marc Del Gaizo and Nate Clurman will serve as bottom-pairing defenders for the Rocket, who will look to run a tight ship on the backend in front of rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler, who hopes to win the starting role and put in some important development time, with plenty of starts this year.

Canadiens starter Samuel Montembeault slots in where you would expect, and while there is no indication, generally in the preseason, the goalies split the game. The goalies may well have their hands full, with the team relying heavily on offense first, and the bulk of the defending coming from minor league players.

After finishing the year in the second wildcard spot and losing in five games to the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs, the Canadiens will look to kick off their preseason on the right foot against the Penguins.