Major changes announced to Canadiens lineup ahead of tonight's clash with the Maple Leafs

Since the Carey Price era, Montreal's preseason is the best it has been. They defeated the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils 5-0 and 3-0 in their opening two games.

While there are many reasons for Canadiens fans to be excited about the team this season, one player in particular that they are eager to see in Montreal is Lane Hutson.

Hutson is exactly what the team needs, but nothing suggests he'll make the squad this year. He demonstrated his ability to bring his inventiveness and crazy skills to an NHL rink in a preseason game. If management believes it will further his development, he may still be sent down to the AHL.

Hutson will be wearing his uniform in Toronto tonight, playing on the top pair for the Habs with Justin Barron. The defensive group is completed by Arber Xhekaj, Adam Engstrom, Jayden Struble, and David Reinbacher. As you can see, Mike Matheson and veteran David Savard will not be playing tonight. Instead, they will probably play on Saturday night at the Bell Center when the Habs play the Leafs.

Alex Newhook, Emil Heineman, and Christian Dvorak will form the team's first line of attack. Oliver Kapanen, the camp's biggest surprise, will lead the second trio, with Joel Armia and Joshua Roy at his sides. Riley Kidney, Owen Beck, and Alex Barre-Boulet make up the third line in the bottom six, while Luke Tuch, Brandon Gignac, and Michael Pezzetta make up the fourth.

The Canadiens have revealed that Connor Hughes and Jakub Dobes will be starting goalies tonight; they will have a difficult task ahead of them.

Riley Kidney and Brandon Gignac will play their first preseason game of the season tonight, the Canadiens also announced.

The Leafs decided to start the big guns without Auston Matthews, who left the team's practice yesterday due to an upper-body injury, so it won't be an easy task for the Habs. We are eager to witness the young Habs players' performance in that difficult test.

This matchup ought to be fascinating tonight. the Canadiens made the decision to give players who want to take advantage of that opportunity a chance.