The Christmas break is over for the Montreal Canadiens, who boarded a plane to Tampa Bay this morning at 9:30 AM. Even though they’ve yet to announce it, the Habs have also officially recalled Samuel Montembeault from his conditioning stint with the Laval Rocket. Not that the 14 days he could have spent there had passed, but he had agreed to play two games, and since that had been done, and the Sainte-Flanelle is going to practice today in Florida, there was no point in extending his stay any longer.

Even though they’ve yet to announce it, the Canadiens have recalled Montembeault from Laval #GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/FQznri56BD

— Karine Hains (@KarineHains) December 27, 2025

In two games in the AHL, Montembeault suffered as many defeats, allowing five goals for a 2.53 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. It’s worth noting that he was backstopping a weakened Rocket side that was without many of its regulars. Some of Pascal Vincent’s best players were in Montreal or in the stands, serving suspensions after the events that followed a Michael Pezzetta hit on Marc Del Gaizo in a game against the Toronto Marlies.

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The Canadiens didn’t recall Montembeault straight after the two games since they weren’t holding any practice with a packed schedule on the road. Instead, the goaltender remained in Montreal, where he practiced with Rocket goaltending coach Marco Marciano.

During Montembeault’s stay in the AHL, the Canadiens had a 3-1-1 record, playing Jacob Fowler for three games and Jakub Dobes for two. Over that stretch, the Habs outscored their opponents 18-11, and both goaltenders played well.

It will be interesting to see how the Tricolore moves forward with its goaltenders; neither of the youngsters deserves to be sent back down, and Montembeault has yet to prove his stint in the AHL and the extra work put in with Marciano helped. With four games on the schedule this week, it’s quite possible that each masked man gets a game before the Canadiens make a decision.

Fowler was in the net the last time the Canadiens played, backstopping them to a 6-2 win over the Boston Bruins. Martin St-Louis will speak to the media later this afternoon, and he may decide to show his hand, just to put an end to speculation. The Habs are set to practice at 2:30 PM.

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Game info 

Who: Nashville Predators (16-16-4, 5th Central) at St. Louis Blues (14-16-8, 6th Central) 

When: 7 p.m. CST 

Where: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo. 

TV: FanDuel Sports Network South 

Radio: 102.5 The Game 

Line (via BetMGM): Predators (+1.5) Blues (-1.5). Over/under 5.5 (-118/-102). 

Blues for the Blues 

The Nashville Predators dominated the St. Louis Blues in both meetings so far this season. 

In the Dec. 11 matchup, Steven Stamkos scored four goals en route to a 7-2 Predators win. Four days later in St. Louis, Filip Forsberg scored a hat trick in the Predators' 5-2 win over the Blues. 

It's a complete turnaround from last season, as the Predators did not win a game against the Blues, going 0-4-0 in their meetings. 

Nashville has battled back in the Central Division after starting the year 1-5-2 against Central Division opponents; they are now 5-6-2 against local opposition. 

Climb continues 

The Predators have seemingly dug themselves out of a hole created in the first month and a half of the season, and are beginning to move up in the standings.

Nashville has won 10 of its last 14 and three straight. It's the Predators' longest winning streak of the season and longest since they won four straight from March 4, 2025, to March 11. 

A win against the Blues would give Nashville its first winning record since Oct. 25, when it defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in a shootout to improve to 4-3-2 on the year. Defeating St. Louis would move Nashville to 17-16-4 on the season. 

In the standings, a win gains more separation between fifth and sixth and puts Nashville one point outside of the final Wild Card spot behind the Utah Mammoth (39 points). 

Forsberg, O'Reilly point streaks 

Two of the Predators' top forwards, Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly, are looking to extend multi-game point streaks tonight. 

O'Reilly has a game point streak, scoring 11 points in that run and has four points in the last two games. Forsberg has a nine-game point streak, scoring 12 points in that time, which included the hat-trick game against the Blues on Dec. 15. 

Scouting St. Louis 

The Blues have been hovering around .500 over their last six games, posting a 3-2-1 record in that stretch. 

Prior to the break, they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1, on Dec. 22. 

Robert Thomas (27 points) and Justin Faulk (20 points) continue to power the Blues offense as they are looking to keep pace with the Predators and possibly jump ahead in the s

The Islanders will take the ice without their top goaltender for at least one more game, as Ilya Sorokin (lower-body injury) was placed on injured reserve Saturday, ahead of their home matchup against the rival Rangers.

In a corresponding move, the Islanders called up AHL Bridgeport goalie Marcus Hogberg as their emergency backup.

With the IR decision retroactive to Dec. 20, Sorokin will be eligible to return to action Sunday, when the Islanders visit the Blue Jackets. The NHL requires a seven-day IR stint, so the prodecural designation for Sorokin could simply be precautionary, rather than the sign of some setback.

But the status on Sorokin's injury is still unclear. The 30-year-old netminder last played on Dec. 19 against the Canucks, allowing three first-period goals in a 4-1 home loss. 

He stopped 27 of 30 shots then, and played until the Islanders pulled him in the closing minutes for an extra skater with the net empty.

In his absence, the Islanders have turned to David Rittich, who's allowed three goals and made 61 saves in their last two games. 

Sorokin, who became one of the NHL's highest-paid goalies by signing an eight-year, $66 million extension in 2023, is a star talent the Islanders sorely need to compete for a playoff spot.

In 24 games this season, he owns a 12-10-2 record (three shutouts) with a 2.55 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. He began December on a five-game winning streak, but over his last two starts, he's allowed six goals on 51 shots.

The Islanders (20-13-4) currently sit in third place in the competitive Metropolitan Division, with 44 points and a plus-3 goal differential.