Martin St. Louis made a necessary top line change despite Canadiens winning streak

Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis has adjusted his top forward line during practice on Wednesday, moving Alex Newhook to center between Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky. Despite Montreal winning three straight road games without injured captain Nick Suzuki, writer Brandon Croce argues the change was necessary to revitalize the team's primary offensive threats.

Oliver Kapanen had filled in at center for the past three games, but struggled with faceoffs and offensive generation alongside Caufield and Slafkovsky. Caufield has not scored since Suzuki's injury, while Slafkovsky holds a low shooting percentage of 6.3% this season, prompting the reshuffle ahead of their game against Dallas.