oliver kapanen did not skate on Monday as the Canadiens held a session in Brossard, the lone player listed for a therapy day and off-ice treatment. Head coach Martin St-Louis confirmed Jakub Dobes will get the start for the club’s upcoming game, leaving the team to keep its forward trios and defensive pairings intact for the scheduled matchup.
Oliver Kapanen at practice
oliver kapanen was the lone Hab absent from Monday’s session in Brossard and was listed as taking a therapy day, a detail repeated across practice coverage. The pattern suggests the absence is being treated as a short-term recovery measure rather than a lineup decision; framing it as a therapy or off-ice treatment day points to maintenance rather than a long-term injury designation.
Jakub Dobes confirmed starter
Martin St-Louis confirmed on Monday that Jakub Dobes will get the start against Toronto, and the game is scheduled for 7: 00 pm ET. That confirmation anchors the immediate roster choice: with Dobes announced as starter, the coaching staff has already set the goaltending plan for the next game, which reduces one tactical variable ahead of Tuesday’s matchup at the Bell Centre.
Patrik Laine as extra
Patrik Laine remained as an extra at practice while Alexandre Texier also served as an extra, and observers noted Joe Veleno appearing to warm a spot on the second line. Practice alignments showed lines such as Caufield–Suzuki–Slafkovsky and Newhook–Veleno–Demidov, and pre-practice moments included Laine working on shots with Cole Caufield. The figures point to a deliberate preservation of the existing trios and options: the coaching staff used extras like Laine and Texier to maintain depth without forcing changes to the primary combinations.
For supporting detail, one practice report listed forward groupings as Caufield–Suzuki–Slafkovsky; Newhook–Veleno–Demidov; Anderson–Danault–Gallagher; and Dach–Evans–Bolduc, with Texier and Laine held out as extras. On defense, pairings cited included Dobson–Matheson and Guhle–Hutson, and photos and notes showed Jakub Dobes as the first goalie off the ice after practice while Samuel Montembeault did extra drills.
That said, the coach’s public confirmation of Dobes and the decision to keep Laine and Texier as extras signal a short-term emphasis on lineup stability rather than experimentation. The analysis suggests St-Louis prioritized readiness for the immediate game against Toronto while keeping roster flexibility intact if oliver kapanen returns from treatment in time to play.
The next confirmed development is the announced start for Jakub Dobes in the game scheduled for 7: 00 pm ET; that starter designation is the concrete roster decision available now. If oliver kapanen is cleared to play before the matchup, the existing practice notes indicate the coach may opt to slot him back into the forward group without overhauling the trios, a move that would preserve the line chemistry already observed in practice.
