Game sheets · NHL
MONTREAL CANADIENS @ CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
Friday, Oct 23, 2026 · 8:00 PM EDT · United Center, Chicago, IL · TV: NHL Net, CHSN
NHL Regular Season · Lineups projected
Game preview
Montreal (4-3-2, 1-1-1 on the road) visits Chicago (3-6-0, 3-2-0 at home) in the first meeting between the teams this season, with Montreal listed at -170 on DraftKings and a total of 6.5. The Canadiens are 3-2 in their last five, most recently a 4-3 overtime loss to San Jose, and Nick Suzuki, their points leader with 12, is out with an upper-body injury. The Blackhawks are 2-3 in their last five after a 4-1 loss at the New York Islanders, and Bowen Byram is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. ESPN lists Jacob Fowler and Spencer Knight as the confirmed probable starters, though a prediction site names Jakub Dobes for Montreal.
- Suzuki, Montreal's points leader with 12, is out with an upper-body injury and is listed to return Nov 18.
- Chicago has lost its last two games, 4-1 at the New York Islanders and 5-2 to Carolina.
- Montreal's Jacob Fowler is 3-1-0 this season with a .900 save percentage.
- Montreal's Cole Caufield leads the team with six goals on 32 shots through nine games.
Players to watch
- MTLCole Caufield: Leads Montreal with 6 goals and 32 shots in 9 games.
- MTLJacob Fowler: Probable starter; 3-1-0 with a .900 save percentage and 2.16 GAA in 4 games.
- CHIFrank Nazar: Leads Chicago with 3 goals and 14 shots.
- CHISpencer Knight: Probable starter; 3-4-0 with a .888 save percentage and 3.59 GAA in 7 games.
- CHIAnton Frondell: Leads Chicago with 6 points (5 assists) in 9 games.
MONTREAL CANADIENS(4-3-2 · 7th in Atlantic Division)
Forwards
| Line | # | Player | Pos | Ctry | Age | GP | G | A | P | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | 91 | Oliver Kapanen | C | SWE | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L1 | 13 | Cole Caufield | RW | USA | 25 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 8 | +4 |
| L1 | 20 | Juraj Slafkovsky | LW | SVK | 22 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +1 |
| L2 | 22 | Chris Kreider | LW | USA | 35 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -2 |
| L2 | 15 | Alex Newhook | C | CAN | 25 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -5 |
| L2 | 17 | Josh Anderson | RW | CAN | 32 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| L3 | 76 | Zack Bolduc | LW | CAN | 23 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | +2 |
| L3 | 24 | Phillip Danault | C | CAN | 33 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +3 |
| L3 | 85 | Alexandre Texier | LW | FRA | 27 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -2 |
| L4 | 62 | Owen Beck | RW | CAN | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| L4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| L4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Projected lines per NHL.com, Oct 23; L4 only partly published (Beck recalled Oct 22).
Defence
| Pair | # | Player | Pos | Ctry | Age | GP | G | A | P | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | 21 | Kaiden Guhle | D | CAN | 24 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 |
| D1 | 53 | Noah Dobson | D | CAN | 26 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -4 |
| D2 | 48 | Lane Hutson | D | USA | 22 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 9 | +2 |
| D2 | 45 | Alexandre Carrier | D | CAN | 30 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +4 |
| D3 | 8 | Mike Matheson | D | CAN | 32 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 |
| D3 | 72 | Arber Xhekaj | D | CAN | 25 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| Alt | 42 | Adam Engstrom | D | SWE | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 |
Pairings not published; listed in roster order per ESPN.
Goalies
| # | Goalie | Ctry | Age | GP | W-L-OT | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | Jacob Fowler* | USA | 21 | 4 | 3-1-0 | 2.16 | .900 |
| 75 | Jakub Dobes | CZE | 25 | 5 | 1-2-2 | 4.47 | .847 |
* Probable starter per ESPN; not confirmed by the lineup research.
Last five
| Result | Score | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| W | 1-0 SO | vs DET |
| W | 4-3 SO | vs BUF |
| L | 5-4 | @ WSH |
| W | 4-3 OT | vs BUF |
| L | 4-3 OT | vs SJ |
Most recent first, per ESPN.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS(3-6-0 · 8th in Central Division)
Forwards
| Line | # | Player | Pos | Ctry | Age | GP | G | A | P | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 98 | Connor Bedard | C | CAN | 21 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| — | 16 | Anton Frondell | C | SWE | 19 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -3 |
| — | 91 | Frank Nazar | C | USA | 22 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -5 |
| — | 86 | Teuvo Teravainen | C | FIN | 32 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | +2 |
| — | 8 | Ryan Donato | C | USA | 30 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -6 |
| — | 20 | Ryan Greene | C | CAN | 23 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +2 |
| — | 11 | Oliver Moore | C | USA | 21 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| — | 59 | Tyler Bertuzzi | LW | CAN | 31 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -1 |
| — | 12 | Jordan Greenway | LW | USA | 29 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 |
| — | 88 | Patrick Kane | RW | USA | 37 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -11 |
| — | 80 | Roman Kantserov | RW | RUS | 22 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | -6 |
| — | 22 | Cole Smith | RW | USA | 30 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +1 |
Roster per ESPN; no lineup published.
Defence
| Pair | # | Player | Pos | Ctry | Age | GP | G | A | P | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | 55 | Artyom Levshunov | D | BLR | 20 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -3 |
| D1 | 44 | Wyatt Kaiser | D | USA | 24 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -5 |
| D2 | 72 | Alex Vlasic | D | USA | 25 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| D2 | 6 | Sam Rinzel | D | USA | 22 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 |
| D3 | 28 | Ian Cole | D | USA | 37 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 |
| D3 | 38 | Ethan Del Mastro | D | CAN | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 |
Pairings not published; roster per ESPN. Byram listed day-to-day, not in this table.
Goalies
| # | Goalie | Ctry | Age | GP | W-L-OT | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Spencer Knight* | USA | 25 | 7 | 3-4-0 | 3.59 | .888 |
| 40 | Arvid Soderblom | SWE | 27 | 2 | 0-2-0 | 4.58 | .820 |
* Probable starter per ESPN; not confirmed by the lineup research.
Last five
| Result | Score | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| L | 4-1 | @ NYI |
| L | 5-2 | vs CAR |
| W | 5-3 | vs PIT |
| W | 4-3 OT | vs WPG |
| L | 4-0 | vs DAL |
Most recent first, per ESPN.
Out
| Team | Player | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHI | Bowen Byram (D) | Day-To-Day | Upper body, return Oct 23 |
| MTL | Nick Suzuki (C) | Out | Upper body, return Nov 18 |
| MTL | Florian Xhekaj (LW) | Injured Reserve | Lower body, return Oct 31 |
| MTL | Sam Montembeault (G) | Injured Reserve | Lower body, return Oct 25 |
| MTL | Ivan Demidov (RW) | Injured Reserve | Lower body, return Oct 31 |
| MTL | Bryce Pickford (D) | Injured Reserve | Undisclosed, return Oct 31 |
Injury report per ESPN.
Standings · Atlantic Division
| Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bruins | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 17 |
| 2 | Lightning | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 3 | Senators | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| 4 | Maple Leafs | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| 5 | Panthers | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 12 |
| 6 | Red Wings | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 7 | Canadiens * | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 8 | Sabres | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
Per ESPN; * tonight's teams.
Standings · Central Division
| Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mammoth | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | Wild | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Stars | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | Avalanche | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 11 |
| 5 | Blues | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 11 |
| 6 | Jets | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 7 | Predators | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 8 | Blackhawks * | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Per ESPN; * tonight's teams.
Team stats
| Stat | MTL | CHI |
|---|---|---|
| GAA | 3.78 | 4.00 |
| SA/G | 26.3 | 30.6 |
| PPGA | 8 | 7 |
| SHGA | 0 | 0 |
| GF/G | 3.11 | 2.33 |
| SF/G | 29.7 | 21.4 |
| PPG | 4 | 3 |
| SHG | 0 | 1 |
| PIM | 106 | 80 |
Season to date per ESPN.
Team leaders
| Team | Category | Player | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| MTL | Goals | Cole Caufield | 6 |
| MTL | Assists | Nick Suzuki | 7 |
| MTL | Points | Nick Suzuki | 12 |
| CHI | Goals | Frank Nazar | 3 |
| CHI | Assists | Anton Frondell | 5 |
| CHI | Points | Anton Frondell | 6 |
Season to date per ESPN.
Odds
| Line |
|---|
| MTL -170, O/U 6.5 (DraftKings) |
Per ESPN.
Notes
- Montreal lines are NHL.com's projection of Oct 23 and may shift; no Chicago lines were published, so Chicago's forwards and defence are the ESPN roster in roster order.
- Stats are 2026-27 regular season through Oct 23 (ESPN); both starting goalies are ESPN probables that are not confirmed, and a conflicting prediction names Dobes for Montreal.
- Records and last-five results are from ESPN and GAME data for Oct 23; Byram is day-to-day and Suzuki is out, both per ESPN.
- Ctry = birth country: BLR Belarus, CAN Canada, CZE Czechia, FIN Finland, FRA France, RUS Russia, SVK Slovakia, SWE Sweden, USA United States; DTD = day-to-day, IR = injured reserve, GAA = goals against average, SV% = save percentage, W-L-OT = wins-losses-overtime losses, +/- = plus-minus.
Sources
- ESPN – game data: https://www.espn.com/nhl/game/_/gameId/401892564
- NHL.com – projected lineups (Oct 23): https://www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-chicago-blackhawks-game-preview-october-23-2026
- Sportsnaut – Canadiens lines (Oct 22): https://sportsnaut.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/lines
- Puckwired – goalie projection (Oct 23): https://www.puckwired.com/game-coverage/game-previews/canadiens-vs-blackhawks-prediction-picks-2026-10-23/
Game sheet generated