{"id":533204,"date":"2026-03-31T17:47:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T17:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/533204\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T17:47:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T17:47:13","slug":"carriers-injury-forces-martin-st-louis-into-a-major-canadiens-lineup-decision-in-tampa-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/533204\/","title":{"rendered":"Carrier\u2019s injury forces Martin St-Louis into a major Canadiens lineup decision in Tampa Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\t\t\t\t\t \"Montreal <\/p>\n

Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Montreal Canadiens\u2019 head coach must adjust his lineup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.<\/p>\n

Carrier will definitely miss tonight\u2019s game in Tampa Bay, and he will also reportedly miss the remainder of the regular season.<\/p>\n

This unexpected absence forces the organization to make an important decision on the blue line.<\/p>\n

Two logical options are currently available to the coaching staff for the game.<\/p>\n

Arber Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom are the main candidates to fill this defensive gap.<\/p>\n

Engstrom represents an interesting option to support the team\u2019s transition game, as he has had an outstanding season with the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, we already know very well what Arber Xhekaj can bring on defence.<\/p>\n

Xhekaj\u2019s physical edge vs Tampa Bay makes dual deployment with Engstrom a real option<\/p>\n

Xhekaj brings an essential physical dimension against a heavy team like Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

Leaving Xhekaj out once again would send a clear message about his usage, but at the same time, we know Martin St-Louis is eager to see Adam Engstrom in action.<\/p>\n

A physical defenceman becomes an absolute necessity in this type of direct matchup.<\/p>\n

At the same time, there is indeed a possibility of seeing both in action tonight, especially if Josh Anderson remains out due to that nasty virus.<\/p>\n

We’re really looking forward to seeing how this situation unfolds!<\/p>\n

We are eagerly awaiting the final Montreal Canadiens lineup.<\/p>\n

And if it were your decision, what would you do with Adam Engstrom and Arber Xhekaj following Alexandre Carrier\u2019s injury?<\/p>\n

Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n

POLL<\/p>\n

3 HOURS AGO|283 ANSWERS<\/p>\n

Carrier\u2019s injury forces Martin St-Louis into a major Canadiens lineup decision in Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

Would you prefer to see Arber Xhekaj in the lineup tonight instead of Adam Engstrom?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images The Montreal Canadiens\u2019 head coach must adjust his lineup against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6167,1603,407,5,412,21,4,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-533204","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-adam-engstrom","9":"tag-alexandre-carrier","10":"tag-arber-xhekaj","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-martin-st-louis","13":"tag-montreal-canadiens","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116325047127280541","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}