The Montreal Canadiens carry a five-game winning streak into Dallas on Thursday, Oct. 29, when they face a Stars team coming off a lopsided loss the night before. Montreal sits 7-3-2 and has won four straight games away from the Bell Centre, while Dallas enters at 7-4-1 after a 5-1 defeat to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday snapped its own four-game winning run. The Canadiens vs Stars preview features two teams near the top of their divisions, with Montreal second in the Atlantic at 16 points and Dallas third in the Central at 15.
Canadiens Vs Stars Game Information
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 29
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Venue: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
- TV/Streaming: ESPN+, Prime Video (Local)
- Series: First meeting of the 2026-27 season
Canadiens Outlook
Montreal has won five straight games, including a 2-0 shutout at St. Louis on Wednesday, and has scored 36 goals on 336 shots this season. Cole Caufield leads the team with 6 goals and 10 points, while Lane Hutson paces the blue line with 7 assists. The Canadiens’ .901 team save percentage and 3.00 goals-against average rank as the softer side of this matchup defensively, a number that will be tested against a Dallas lineup that includes Mikko Rantanen.
Montreal remains without center Nick Suzuki, who is out with an upper-body injury and not expected back until Nov. 18, according to Total Apex Sports’ earlier report on the Suzuki injury. Goaltender Sam Montembeault sits on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, clearing the way for Jakub Dobes to start in net. Forward Ivan Demidov, defenseman Bryce Pickford and forward Lucas Condotta are also on injured reserve, all with target return dates of Oct. 31.
Stars Outlook
Dallas had won four in a row before Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to New Jersey, a stretch that included overtime wins over Boston and Winnipeg and a 6-3 win over the Islanders. Mikko Rantanen leads the Stars in every offensive category tracked, with 6 goals, 8 assists and 14 points. Dallas owns the better goals-against average in this matchup at 2.00 compared to Montreal’s 3.00, built on a .917 team save percentage.
The Stars’ injury list is longer than Montreal’s. Defenseman Kyle Capobianco is out with a left leg injury and targeted to return Nov. 5. Center Radek Faksa is out with a lower-body injury with a Nov. 3 target date, and defenseman Esa Lindell is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury with an Oct. 31 target.
Center Oskar Back remains on injured reserve with a finger fracture and isn’t targeted to return until Nov. 14. Center Sam Steel is listed day-to-day and carries the same Oct. 29 target date as this game. Jake Oettinger is the probable starting goaltender for Dallas.
Key Matchup
Dallas owns a 56.1% faceoff percentage as a team, well ahead of Montreal’s 52.4%, and that edge could matter more than usual with Suzuki, Faksa and Back all unavailable to either side’s center depth. Montreal’s top line finishing chances against Oettinger, who backstops a Dallas defense allowing just 2.00 goals per game, will likely determine whether the Canadiens can stretch their winning streak to six. Caufield’s 10 points this season make him Montreal’s most dangerous scoring threat, and how Dallas defends against him without its full complement of defensemen will shape the game.
What To Watch
Montreal arrives with a five-game winning streak and sits second in the Atlantic Division at 16 points, while Dallas looks to answer its first regulation loss in five games and stay ahead of Colorado and Nashville in the Central. Both probable starting goalies, Dobes for Montreal and Oettinger for Dallas, remain projections until puck drop. The Canadiens continue to manage their center depth with Suzuki sidelined, a storyline Total Apex Sports has tracked through recent previews including the Canadiens vs Blues preview and the team’s search for top-six center help. Montreal’s next previous matchup came in the Canadiens vs Blackhawks preview series earlier this month.
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