The Montreal Canadiens (12-3-4) are set to host the Colorado Avalanche (11-6-3) on Saturday night, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. ET.

The Habs have the wind at their backs, fresh off an impressive 5-2 win versus the Boston Bruins on Thursday. It was the first time of the season the Bruins allowed their opponents to score more than four goals in regulation, and a rare instance in which they did not dominate at home.

To make matters more interesting, both Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki, the two best players on the team, had difficult games from a statistical standpoint. However, thanks to solid contributions from the rest of the lineup, the Canadiens more or less cruised to victory. Of course, rookie netminder Jacob Fowler had his say, making 15 high-danger saves at 5v5.

The win secured at least a point for the Canadiens in their last 12 games, while also pushing them to the top of the Atlantic Division standings, tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Considering many suggested the Habs got off to a slow start this year, there’s no denying they’ve managed to fight tooth and nail for precious points in the standings, which could end up being the difference between home town advantage and starting the playoffs on the road.

There will be some changes to the lineup, as it was announced that forward Chris Kreider will unfortunately miss six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury. With that in mind, we will see the return of Florian Xhekaj to the lineup.

As for the netminders, Martin St-Louis is giving Fowler the night off, which means Jakub Dobes will receive a start for the first time since November 5, a 5-4 overtime win versus the Utah Mammoth. It will also represent just his eight start of the season, a testament to the dominant efforts from Fowler.

The Avalanche will have to do without two of the best players in the league, as both Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar were injured in the game versus the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, and will not be available to play on Saturday. With that in mind, the Avalanche are still a very good team without the aforementioned skaters, and the Habs simply cannot afford to take them lightly.

For the view from the other side of the rink, make sure to visit Colorado Hockey Now.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky

Alexandre Texier – Phillip Danault – Zachary Bolduc

Alex Newhook- Jake Evans – Josh Anderson

Florian Xhekaj – Oliver Kapanen – Kirby Dach

Lane Hutson – Noah Dobson

Kaiden Guhle – Alexandre Carrier

Arber Xhekaj – Mike Matheson*

Jakub Dobes

Colorado Avalanche Projected Lineup

Artturi Lehkonen – Nazem Kadri – Martin Necas

Jaden Schwartz – Brock Nelson – T.J. Hughes

Gabriel Landeskog – Gavin Brindley – Nicolas Roy

Parker Kelly – Fedor Svechkov – Logan O’Connor

Brett Kulak – Brent Burns

Devon Toews – Sam Malinski

Noah Juulsen – Alex Gagne

Mackenzie Blackwood

Canadiens vs. Avs – How To Watch

The Montreal Canadiens versus the Colorado Avalanche, Saturday, November 14, will be aired on TSN2, and RDS. An instant recap complete with highlights will immediately be available on Sportsnaut once the final whistle blows.