The NHL's director of hockey operations chose not to suspend the Ottawa Senators forward after Spezza received an instigator penalty for starting a fight with Toronto's Carlo Colaiacovo with four minutes left in Saturday's game.
Under NHL rules, any player deemed the instigator of a fight in the final five minutes of regulation receives an automatic one-game suspension.
"I kind of got speared [by Colaiacovo]. I just tried to protect myself," said Spezza, who leads Ottawa into Montreal's Bell Centre for Tuesday night's Northeast Division matchup.
Senators' Jason Spezza, left, has avoided a one-game suspension and will be in the lineup Tuesday night against Montreal. (CP Photo)
Spezza, despite sitting fifth in NHL scoring this season with 46 points in 30 games, isn't a sure bet to be part of Canada's 23-man roster for the Torino Games in February.
Perhaps a standout performance against the injury-riddled Canadiens will force Canada's executive committee to make a last-minute decision before Wednesday's roster announcement at 5 p.m. ET.
Spezza, 22, collected three points in Ottawa's 8-2 trouncing of Toronto on Saturday, a game in which the Senators scored a franchise-record six power-play goals.
The Cash Line of Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson and Spezza – shut out in three of the previous four games, heated up on the weekend. All three scored and the line combined for eight points.
The stage is set for Spezza and company to have their way with Montreal, losers of two straight and nine of 12.
Starting goaltender Jose Theodore is out with a bruised left knee, while forwards Saku Koivu (groin), Richard Zednik (flu), Radek Bonk (groin) and Tomas Plekanec (knee) are doubtful.
Also, sniper Alexei Kovalev will be a game-time decision. He was to have his surgically-repaired knee examined earlier in the day.
Third-year NHLer Cristobal Huet will start in place of Theodore, who will miss his second game since he was struck on the left knee during last Thursday's 5-3 loss in Edmonton.
The former Los Angeles King stopped 24 of 28 shots in his Canadiens' debut, a 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota on Saturday.
Huet missed training camp and the beginning of the regular season after undergoing major surgery on his knee.
Montreal recalled goalie Yann Danis and forward Andrei Kostitsyn from the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League on Monday.
The Canadiens' recent slide has seen them fall 10 points back of Ottawa, which sits atop the Northwest and Eastern Conference with a league-leading 23-5-2 record.
Montreal (16-9-6) has won three of its last five home games and is a respectable 10-5-2 at the Bell Centre this season.
The Senators are 10-2-2 on the road but will be minus Brandon Bochenski for the next six to eight weeks after the rookie winger went hard into the boards on Saturday.
Ottawa is 3-0 against the Canadiens this season, and has won nine of the last 11 meetings overall.
Montreal is on the road for five games after Tuesday, starting Friday in Washington. The Senators meet the Flyers in Philadelphia on Thursday.
