Kahkonen had his best start of the season his last time out stopping 34 of 36 shots (.944) in a loss to New Jersey. He has struggled this season, losing all his starts (0-3-0) while posting a 3.46 GAA and a .873 SV%. He faces a Maple Leafs team that has struggled to get going so far offensively, ranking 25th in the NHL in GF (2.71).
Slafkovsky missed the Canadien's last game due to an upper-body injury and after being left out of Monday's practice will not be playing on Tuesday. The 2022 1st overall pick has one goal and four shots through five games so far to start his NHL career.
Montembeault will get his second start in as many games after Montreal announced Jake Allen would not be available for Monday's game due to parental leave. The 25-year-old netminder struggled in his only start of the season, losing 3-1 to Washington while stopping 26 of 29 shots with little offensive help. He will look to get his first win of the season Monday against Pittsburgh.
San Jose's backup goaltender will draw his second start of the season for the winless Sharks (0-3-0) Saturday. The 26-year-old Finnish netminder will be hoping for a bounce-back performance after allowing three goals on 18 shots (.833 SV%) against Nashville last weekend in Prague.
Matheson underwent an MRI on Wednesday and missed the Canadiens' season opener with a lower-body injury. The MRI must not have revealed positive news, as he hits IR to open up a roster spot for Corey Schueneman to be called up.
33-year-old veteran Left Winger Paul Byron will be placed on the LTI due to a hip injury steaming from last season. Byron has struggled to stay healthy the last few years playing only 102 games in the last three NHL seasons. He collected seven points in 27 games in 2021-22 as he found himself out of the lineup more often than in. By placing the 12-year veteran on the LTI, the Canadiens free up $900,000 in cap space.
Matheson's rehab from a lower-body injury he suffered in the preseason continues. At this point, it seems unlikely that Matheson will be available for the Canadiens' season opener on Wednesday.
Kahkonen will get the second of the back-to-back starts for the Global Series in Prague. The 26-year-old will get his first nod between the crease this season after posting a .916 SV% and 2.86 GAA across 16 games after getting dealt to the Sharks' at the trade deadline in 2021-22.
Suzuki has been battling a lower-body injury throughout training camp but returned to the ice on Friday. Suzuki told reporters that he would have played through the injury during the regular season but that they're being careful because it's training camp. This is positive news that Suzuki should be ready to go for the Canadiens' season opener.
Suzuki suffered the injury during offseason training and is expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks. It seems possible that the newly minted Canadiens' captain could be ready for the start of the season, which is just over two weeks away for Montreal.
The Blue Jackets released a statement that read "per the advice and recommendation of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, will not join the club for the 2022-23 NHL season." In the statement, Texier said "During the past year, I have experienced some personal issues and challenges and I feel I need to be close to my family at this time." His $1.525M cap hit will come off of the Blue Jackets' books this season.
