The Montreal Canadiens (20-12-6) are set to continue their end-of-calendar-year road trip tonight against a battered and bruised Florida Panthers (21-15-2), who have been dealing with injuries to major players all season. Nonetheless, the Panthers will still be a very tough opponent for the Habs tonight. The Habs are coming off an amazing comeback on Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning that fell short thanks to the shootout. Meanwhile, the Panthers enter tonight on the 2nd half of a back-to-back, after winning 5-3 on Monday night against the Washington Capitals.

Full team rosters and stats ahead of tonight’s game between the Canadiens and Panthers in Florida. Samuel Montembeault starts in goal for #Habs: pic.twitter.com/CGxiz6pRXr

— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) December 30, 2025

Given that the Panthers are the defending Stanley Cup Champions, it will be a hard matchup for the Canadiens even though both Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov are out with injuries. Having a winning mentality runs throughout the lineup, and it will be a very tough test for the Habs tonight.

Even more so considering that the Habs will be starting Samuel Montembeault, who will be making his first NHL start since December 2nd, after finishing a conditioning stint in the AHL earlier last week. The conditioning stint was in the hope that the Habs veteran goaltender could find his game again after he has been one of the worst goaltenders in the NHL this season so far with his .857 save percentage and 3.65 GAA. Tonight will show if all the work that he has done away from the team over the past few weeks has paid off.

Imagine the pressure on Samuel Montembeault today. If he blows it tonight, maybe that’s it for his career in Montreal. He certainly only has a few more games to prove he should be the team’s number-one goalie.

— Brendan Kelly (@brendanshowbiz) December 30, 2025

It should be noted that given his most recent games against the Panthers, this may be the perfect team for him to prove himself, as Montembeault has a .930 save percentage and a 2.01 GAA in his last 4 starts vs. the team that drafted him. Therefore, if there is ever a time for Montembeault to get back on track, tonight would be the time for him to do it.

We have a change.
Texier with Caufield and Suzuki.

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) December 29, 2025

Another lineup change that we will see in tonight’s game from the Habs is that Alexandre Texier will be given a shot to show that he can play on the top line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. That line with Zack Bolduc had stalled over the last few games, so the Habs decided to swap Texier and Bolduc in hopes of getting a spark from both lines. Bolduc will play on a line with Josh Anderson and Phillip Danault tonight.

On defence, rookie Adam Engstrom will be coming into the lineup to replace Jayden Struble, who will be sitting out as a healthy scratch against the Panthers. Engstrom has been a scratch for the last two games, despite needing to get in games for his development. Hopefully Engstrom can stay in the lineup over Struble for the near future.

Adam Engstrom sera en uniforme plutôt que Jayden Struble ce soir

Adam Engstrom enters in place of Jayden Struble tonight#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/05DzqhPrB8

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 30, 2025

In goal for the Panthers tonight, it is expected to be Daniil Tarasov after Sergei Bobrovsky played for them against the Capitals last night. Tarasov has had an up-and-down performance as a backup for the Panthers, posting a 4-6-1 record with a .899 save percentage and 2.97 GAA this year. It will really be a hit-or-miss on whether he comes out and has a great game against the Habs or if he will have a tough night. His only career start against the Canadiens came last season in a 5-1 loss when Tarasov was still with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Since we are likely to see a Montembeault vs. Tarasov battle tonight, there is a good chance that the Over pays out tonight. It’s possible one of them shines, but the odds that we will see over 6.5 goals in tonight’s game still seem good. Betting on that line could be easy money. The Canadiens are +105 underdogs in tonight’s game despite having won all 4 meetings against the Panthers last season. Can the Canadiens keep things going in the right direction against the Panthers?

Ivan Demidov today on how his game has evolved with Juraj Slafkovsky:

“It’s getting better, cause I need the guy like Juraj…He can do everything.” pic.twitter.com/9DQlpEYZac

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 30, 2025

Ivan Demidov to get a point in tonight’s game seems like an amazing player prop bet. The Habs rookie has really been heating up alongside the NHL’s 3rd Star of the Week, Juraj Slafkovsky. Demidov has recorded 2 points in each of his last 3 games. The line for him to record 1+ points is set at -140. While those odds may not seem very appealing, when combined with a Habs win and the Over in tonight’s game, the odds go up to +375 with a Same Game Parlay.

What are your predictions for Montembeault’s first game back with the Habs?