Nick Suzuki skated with his teammates on Monday, and the biggest change at practice came right behind him: Alex Newhook, who had played a much bigger role while the captain was out, moved down to the fourth line. The Canadiens (9-3-2, five wins in a row) host Winnipeg on Tuesday at 7:00 PM ET, and goalie Samuel Montembeault also returned to the ice with his full equipment.

Monday’s Practice Lines

These are the groups the team used at practice. They are practice lines, not the confirmed lineup for Tuesday.

Line	Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
1	Caufield	Suzuki	Slafkovský
2	Kreider	Evans	Anderson
3	Bolduc	Danault	Texier
4	F. Xhekaj (Beck)	Kapanen	Newhook

Defense Pair	Left	Right
1	Hutson	Dobson
2	Guhle	Carrier
3	A. Xhekaj	Engström

Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobeš were the goalies with the group, while Montembeault worked separately with goalie coach Marco Marciano. For the lines the team confirms on game day, check our Lineup Tonight page.

Suzuki Is Back With Caufield and Slafkovský

Suzuki took his usual spot between Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský, the same trio that put up five points against Buffalo on October 17. Whether he plays Tuesday is not known, and the team has not confirmed it. He hurt his left hand against San Jose on October 20, the first timeline was two to four weeks, and he has now missed five games, all of them wins. That puts him at the early end of the window. (More on that stretch in our road trip review without Suzuki.)

The numbers show why his return matters: 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points in 9 games, and 21:46 of ice time per game. For a top line that has to play against the other team’s best defense pair every night, that is the kind of usage you cannot replace with a depth player for long.

Why Newhook Moves Down

In the five games without Suzuki, Newhook averaged 17:08 a night and scored two goals, both in Dallas on October 29. That is top-six ice time, and he got it because the lineup had a hole to fill. At practice he is now on the right side of the fourth line, with Oliver Kapanen at center and Florian Xhekaj or Owen Beck on the left.

This is a lineup consequence, not a punishment. When the captain returns, Kapanen, who filled in at center during his absence, goes back to the middle of the fourth line. Jake Evans moves up to center Chris Kreider and Josh Anderson, and Phillip Danault stays with Bolduc and Texier on the third line. Someone has to come out of the top nine when a first-line center comes back, and Newhook was the one.

The cost is ice time. Fourth-line wingers have played about 6 to 10 minutes a night lately (Beck had 8:51 and Florian Xhekaj 7:34 against Pittsburgh), so Newhook’s minutes will drop a lot unless he gets power-play time or Martin St-Louis shuffles the lines during the game, which he often does. The positive side is that this fourth line has more skill than most, so it can be used for offensive-zone shifts and not only for energy.

Montembeault Is Back on the Ice

Montembeault returned to the ice Monday morning with his full equipment, working with Marciano at the training complex. He was hurt in practice on October 7, the day before his planned first start of the season, and he has not played a game yet. There is no firm return date. The team could send him to Laval on a conditioning loan of up to 14 days, if he agrees, without waivers, the same path he used last season.

The challenge is what comes next. Fowler is 7-1-0 with a .932 save percentage and a 1.84 goals-against average, and he was named the NHL’s rookie of the month for October, and he is also the Canadiens’ Molson Cup winner for October, with two shutouts and a 7-1-0 record. Dobeš is 2-2-2 with a .853 save percentage and a 4.05 goals-against average, and he needs games to find his rhythm. With three healthy goalies, somebody will play less than they should. Our view: Fowler has earned the net, and Montembeault’s best route back is a few starts in Laval, so the Canadiens do not carry three goalies in the NHL. (Read our Fowler No. 1 goalie article for the full picture.)

https://twitter.com/CanadiensMTL/status/2117278160702279958

Dach and Matheson Still Out

Kirby Dach was absent again on Monday. He missed Saturday’s win over Pittsburgh with a virus. Mike Matheson was not on the ice either, and he is out for two weeks. That is why the practice shows only three defense pairs, with Hutson, Dobson, Guhle, Carrier, Arber Xhekaj and Engström. We will watch the injury report for both players ahead of Tuesday.

Tuesday: Winnipeg Looks for a Win

The Jets are 4-8-3, 28th in the league, and have lost nine straight games (two of them in overtime), including a 7-0 loss at Carolina on Sunday. The Canadiens beat them 2-1 at the Heritage Classic on October 25. St-Louis warned that Winnipeg will be desperate: “We have to understand where this team is emotionally.” A sixth straight win is the goal, and a team coming off nine losses is exactly the kind of opponent that plays its best game against you.

Sources: NHL game data, RDS.