Early look The full preview opens on Saturday 5 December, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

Vegas Golden Knights at Montréal Canadiens: game preview

Puck drop8 Dec · 7:00 PM ET
VenueCentre Bell
All-time meetings22 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Eleven points apart last season

Vegas finished last season 13th in the league on 95 points. Montréal finished 6th on 106.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 23

Across 22 completed games, Montréal lead the head-to-head 12-7-3.

All-time record12-7-3Montréal's record in the series
Meetings played22This is number 23
2025-26 series—
Last 53-2Montréal
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
27 Jan 2026VGK 2 – MTL 3 OT——MTL
28 Nov 2025MTL 4 – VGK 1——MTL
31 Dec 2024MTL 3 – VGK 2——MTL
23 Nov 2024VGK 6 – MTL 2——VGK
16 Nov 2023VGK 6 – MTL 5——VGK
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateVegasMontréal
28 Nov 202510-6-8 · 28 pts15th13-7-3 · 29 pts10th
27 Jan 202625-14-12 · 62 pts11th28-17-7 · 63 pts9th

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 28 Nov 2025, Vegas were 15th in the league and Montréal 10th. By 27 Jan 2026 it was 11th and 9th.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Vegas out-attempted Montréal 138 to 104

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

Vegas Golden Knights

138 att · 65 on goal · 3 G · 4.6%
Crease16 att · 1 G
Slot53 att · 1 G
Wing47 att · 1 G
Point17 att · 0 G
Neutral zone5 att · 0 G

Montréal Canadiens

104 att · 45 on goal · 7 G · 15.6%
Crease8 att · 2 G
Slot44 att · 4 G
Wing34 att · 1 G
Point14 att · 0 G
Neutral zone4 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Vegas have created the better chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

VegasMontréal
3.79xG for per game2.61
2.09xG against per game3.61
64.4%xG share42.0%
+1.8FinishingGoals minus expected goals+4.2
−1.6GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed−3.2

This season: 4 games for Vegas, 3 for Montréal. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

Vegas

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2731.3%
Power play · 2025-2624.6% · 6th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2783.3%
Penalty kill · 2025-2681.4% · 7th
Faceoffs · 2026-2753.0% · 122/230
Drawn · 2026-2716 (4.00/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2712 (3.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Montréal

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2710.0%
Power play · 2025-2623.1% · 10th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2775.0%
Penalty kill · 2025-2678.2% · 18th
Faceoffs · 2026-2753.9% · 96/178
Drawn · 2026-2710 (3.33/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2712 (4.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
9Jack Eichel428102.50
95Victor Olofsson44151.25
48Tomas Hertl43251.25
14Nick Suzuki32462.00
22Chris Kreider31341.33
76Zachary Bolduc33031.00
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
27Shea Theodore41230.75
15Noah Hanifin41010.25
48Lane Hutson30441.33
8Mike Matheson30110.33
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 5 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 6 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Vegas crease

VGK · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 5 Dec

Carter Hart.8903 GP · 2-1-0 · GSAx −1.1
Adin Hill.9001 GP · 1-0-0 · GSAx −0.5

No appearances against Montréal in the last meetings.

Montréal crease

MTL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 5 Dec

Jakub Dobes.8573 GP · 1-1-1 · GSAx −3.0

No appearances against Vegas in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.6 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

27 Jan 20265 · VGK 2–3 MTL
28 Nov 20255 · MTL 4–1 VGK
31 Dec 20245 · MTL 3–2 VGK
23 Nov 20248 · VGK 6–2 MTL
16 Nov 202311 · VGK 6–5 MTL

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Vegas4.252.503.233.05
Montréal4.004.673.453.12

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest6.6Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings6.8Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

8 on the injury lists

Vegas · injuries

Lukas CormierUndisclosedIRReturn22 Oct
Raphael LavoieUndisclosedOutReturn8 Oct
Victor OlofssonUndisclosedDay-to-dayReturn8 Oct

Montréal · injuries

Bryce PickfordUndisclosedIRReturn17 Oct
Ivan DemidovLower BodyIRReturn31 Oct
Kaiden GuhleGroinIRReturn20 Oct
Lucas CondottaUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Oliver KapanenLower BodyOutReturn8 Oct
30 Sep · VGK

Signed C William Karlsson to a two-year contract.

29 Sep · VGK

Placed C Jakub Cormier, RW Matyas Hemmerling and C Jakub Uchacz on the injured non-roster list.

23 Sep · VGK

Placed D Jaycob Megna, D Adam Ginning, D Joe Fleming, C Jakub Demek and D Jeremy Davies on waivers.

27 Sep · MTL

Placed D Reilly Walsh, D Maksymilian Szuber, D Ethan Samson, C Sam Poulin, RW Sasha Pastujov, C Hunter McKown, G Kaapo Kähkönen, LW Brett Berard, and RW Alex Belzile on waivers for the purpose of loaning them to Laval (AHL).

12 Sep · MTL

Signed F Chris Kreider to a one-year contract.

9 Aug 2026 · MTL

Loaned F Vinzenz Rohrer to EV Zug (Switzerland).

Injury report
#29Juho PiiparinenRound 1 · TapparaD
#63ForfeitedRound 2 ·
#92Benjamin WilmottRound 3 · BarrieC
#95Sean BurickRound 3 · PentictonD
Full draft
#26Gleb PugachyovRound 1 · Nizhny Novgorod Jr.RW
#57Timofei RuntsoRound 2 · VictoriaD
#93Cooper CleavesRound 3 · DartmouthD
#117Brayden KlimpkeRound 4 · SaskatoonD
Full draft

Updated after every final