MONTREAL — Paul Martin will need to keep waiting.

Sharks coach Pete DeBoer is getting presented with the perfect opportunity to give the veteran defenseman a chance to play for the first time since he returned from a conditioning assignment with the AHL Barracuda against the Montreal Canadiens (16-19-4) Tuesday. The Sharks (20-12-4) are coming off a 6-0 thumping to the Dallas Stars, a scenario that usually triggers significant lineup changes.

Instead, DeBoer is dressing the same lineup he used in Dallas Sunday, moving Timo Meier up to the top line, reuniting the combination of Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Joonas Donskoi and forming a new third line with Mikkel Boedker, Chris Tierney and Kevin Labanc.

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The Sharks coach will keep all three of his defensive pairings in tact, sending Martin to the press box for a third-consecutive game.

“We’re not changing our lineup. It was a poor effort across the board,” DeBoer said. “Our best players were probably our worst players the other night. It wasn’t the depth guys.”

DeBoer is clearly making the right choice when it comes to his third defensive pairing.

The Sharks have yet to surrender a five-on-five goal while Joakim Ryan and Dylan DeMelo have been on the ice together since DeBoer reunited the pairing in the final game before the Christmas break on Dec. 23.

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Ryan and DeMelo are perfect compliments for one another, moving the puck out of the defensive zone quickly, staying sound positionally and pinching at the right times in the offensive zone.

“We play a similar style,” DeMelo said. “We know our game and we just keep it simple.”

2. It’s all about the response.

Instead of worrying about everything that went wrong in Dallas Sunday, the Sharks are focused on making sure they put forth a strong response in Montreal.

In recent weeks, the Sharks have run into trouble when facing teams that DeBoer describes as a “wounded animal”. The Sharks came out flat against a Vancouver Canucks squad that was coming off a 7-1 shellacking to the Nashville Predators on Dec. 15, and it cost them a point. They also took a beating from an Edmonton Oilers team that was fighting for its life on Dec 18.

The Habs are in a similar spot right now. They’ve lost four straight, getting outscored 12-3 in the process. The press is calling for general manager Marc Bergevin’s head and captain Max Pacioretty is rumored to be on the trading block.

“I know we’ll be better tonight. I also know Montreal’s going to be very good,” DeBoer said. “You know what they say about a wounded animal, you know how dangerous it is. We’re going to see their best game tonight.”

Captain Joe Pavelski is also expecting a strong response from his team. In the instances where the Sharks have laid eggs during DeBoer’s two-plus seasons as head coach, they’ve always bounced back with strong efforts.

“A lot of it comes from our coaching staff, keeping us prepared,” Pavelski said. “The other part is just the character in this room with some guys that compete. Everyone’s showed up the next night if we’ve had a game like that.”

3. David Schlemko is finding a home in Montreal.

Amidst the blizzard that is Montreal Canadiens hockey, Schlemko is finding his place in the eye of the storm.

After breaking his hand on the first day of training camp with his new club, the former-Sharks defenseman is finding his groove after missing the first 25 games of the season.

Schlemko is a plus-seven in 12 games on a team that looks like it’s competing for a green jacket with Alex Galchenyuk at minus-15, Jonathan Drouin at minus-16 and Jeff Petry at minus-22.

The 30-year-old defenseman was hoping to find a home in San Jose, signing with the Sharks in 2016 after playing on four different teams over a two-year span prior to last season. Instead, he was exposed in the expansion draft, selected by the Vegas Golden Knights and shipped off to Montreal for a 2019 fifth-round pick.

Brenden Dillon, who met up with Schlemko Monday night, said his former-defensive partner is getting comfortable with the Habs.

“He’s getting into the swing of things,” Dillon said. “They’ve got some injuries on the backend with Shea Weber being out, so he’s getting some more minutes and it’s going well for him.”

DeBoer, who’s labeled himself a “Schlemko fan”, is pleased to see that the veteran blue liner is gaining traction in Montreal.

“I liked his game. He really helped us last year,” the Sharks coach said. “It was one of those situations where we knew we were going to lose a good player to expansion, and unfortunately, it was him. I thought it was a really smart pick up by Montreal going out and getting him because he can definitely play.”