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Habs Look For First “W” Of Preseason Against Ottawa |
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A Montreal Canadiens squad that’s sparse on NHL talent will head to the Canadian Tire Centre to take on the Ottawa Senators as they complete the first half of their preseason schedule. The Canadiens haven’t registered a win yet (0-3) but they have played well. The team also hasn’t iced anything close to a full NHL squad and that statement couldn’t be any truer after seeing today’s game sheet.
I see only 6 players assured to start the season on the Canadiens roster and that’s including Al Montoya and Brandon Davidson, but not counting Charles Hudon (though he is currently the placeholder for the open forward spot). The Sens will be sending a squad that will include the likes of Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman, Cody Ceci and Thomas Chabot with Craig Anderson confirmed to be playing the entire game. Edge Senators on paper.
The Canadiens lined up like this at practice today.
Hudon - Plekanec - Lehkonen
Carr - Audette - McCarron
Broll - De La Rose - Gregoire
Terry - Holland - Froese
Alzner - Benn (right side change for Benn, was playing left)
Morrow - Davidson
Lernout - Taormina
Montoya
Fucale
Depending on how many games Julien wants to ice an NHL-like roster, this is likely the final game for many of these kids. If Julien wants to save the regulars for the last couple preseason games then this will be one of the final opportunities for youngsters and fringe NHL'ers. A win tonight would go a long way all round.
My hopes of seeing Michael McNiven in preseason action was dashed yesterday as he and Markus Eisenschmid were assigned to the Laval Rocket. Eisenschmid I understand, but I think McNiven deserved a game due to his performance last season. Clearly, he had no chance of making this roster and the move is to help Laval prepare for the season but I’m still a bit disappointed.
Injuries continue to pile up for the Canadiens youngsters as Juulsen, Addison, and now Brook are out with long term injuries. To make matters worse, these were all prospects who have legit, long term NHL potential that I was really looking forward to watching this camp.
The Galchenyuk Hate Train has already reached high speeds amongst some in the Montreal media. Despite them knowing that this type of player needs coddling more than he needs whips they continue to apply needless pressure. Despite this same player putting up 24 points in the first 25 games last year. Despite these games being completely, utterly useless. Ugh…. Some people complain about Canadiens coverage being inherently negative. Some justify it because of the teams history and say it’s because the standard is set so high. The justifiers are completely wrong.
The Canadiens of the last two decades haven’t achieved a Stanley Cup Final appearance. That’s the standard, that’s the bar. The team has trouble attracting big name UFA’s not only because of the language issues and taxes, but because the media will spin them into vortex of negativity at the drop of a hat. This is a kids game. This is also entertainment. This is also the PRESEASON.
Good on Coach Julien for recognizing this early and getting in front of it. Julien was always good (to the point of being cringeworthy) at defending his players in Boston and it’s good to see this start here as well. The media has already traded Montreal’s best player before injury last season and Julien is pulling a Price in reminding people to back off.
Hopefully Julien can coach the media into becoming more about the entertainment than the drama, but I won’t hold my breath. Some media knows that negativity sells. People love to revel in the failures of others so they can pile on like they have moral superiority. The sooner we start to unsubscribe to that way of thinking, the better we will be.
Rant over.
If you are in Ottawa tonight don’t forget to check out the game, we are fans of hockey after all.
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Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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