There might not have been a game yesterday for the Habs but there was plenty of action in Montreal. The Canadiens started their day with a practice in Brossard and the line-up was as follows:
Drouin-Domi-Shaw Tatar-Danault-Gallagher Byron-Kotkaniemi-Lehkonen Agostino-Chaput-Deslauriers Hudon-Peca-Scherbak (5th line)
Kulak-Weber Schlemko-Petry Reilly-Benn Ouellet-Mete
Price Niemi
Takeaways from this line-up?
-Byron's return appears imminent but Claude Julien has said that he has yet to be cleared by the team doctors; -Byron getting off the IR list was bad news for Victor Mete who was sent down to Laval. That's probably how he sees it but I personally think he will do him some good to build his confidence up a little; -Byron has taken Hudon's spot on the 3rd like and he's therefore likely to be a healthy scratch should number 41 receive the all clear. A fan at the Habs' blood drive yesterday though it was a good idea to ask Hudon if he would play Saturday, he flinched before saying I hope so. You could see he's trying to put on a brave face but it's not that easy; -With a busy 2 game weekend, we should see both Price and Niemi but it remains to be seen who will face which team; -Schlemko seems to have failed his audition at Weber's side; -Kulak, who was called up a little over a week ago, was the Canadiens' captain partner, it remains to be seen whether or not that will stick
Once practice was over, the Habs player had another task to take care of. Once a a year, the Canadiens and Héma-Québec organise a blood drive at the Bell Centre. Fans are asked to give blood and in return they get to meet some of the Canadiens' players and, if they're lucky, get a few autographs. Throughout the day, players take turn appearing at the event and making fans happy.
I had been thinking about donating blood for a while now and since I had the day off, I decided to drive up to Montreal and do it. Not only is it a good deal but it was also a great opportunity to get some prized items signed. I can't say that I was nervous about the blood donation, to be honest, I never had any issues with blood tests or arthrography (an exam during which you are injected with a needle as big as a knitting needle - and no it's not an exaggeration).
Prior to my donation, I ran into Carey Price and he agreed to sign my Price jersey. I've been told that Price is not really friendly when he signs autographs for fans in Brossard but yesterday, he was all smiles and happy to reward fans for their good deed. Whilst I was on the table donating my blood, David Schlemko came by and gave me an autographed card. We had a little chat about how it is to donate and when I said it was my first time he said: "That's pretty cool", to which I said; "feel free to join me, there are plenty of tables!" He laughed and said no, no today.
Once the nurse told me I could go, I was heading for the food area (the Bell Centre gives you two hot dogs, chips and a fizzy drink) when I bumped into Phil Danault and chatted with him for a bit, he's a rather nice guy and really easy to talk to. Once you've eaten, you can stay in an area to try and get autographs from players. The thing is, you never know what time which players will show up, they arrive in small groups. For instance, the first group included: Price, Weber, Petry, Byron, Armia, Shaw, Schlemko and Danault. Some breeze trough, while others really take the time to speak to everyone, kudos to Danault who really took his time. The 2:30 batch included Gallagher, Juulsen, Benn, Lehkonon, Tatar, Domi. An hour later it was time for Drouin, Niemi, Kirk Muller, Chaput, Agostino. Depending on when you turn up, you get to see different players.
What a wonderful day yesterday! #gohabsgo #GiveBlood pic.twitter.com/tZJ1iZQrA2
— Karine Hains (@Pheebs888) November 30, 2018
Having had my jersey signed by Carey Price I was already satisfied but since I came down from Québec for the event (3 hours drive), I stuck around and was over the moon with my results. I bought over a year ago a Brendan Gallagher goal puck and he signed it for in silver, Jordie Benn signed my hockey fights cancer hat, got pucks from Weber, Tatar and Juulsen (you can still see the damages caused by the pucks he received to the face).
This kind of event is also a great place to meet fellow fans and I took the opportunity to complete a big trade with my mate Jean-Claude. I've said in another blog that Patrick Roy has always been my favorite and I was ecstatic to manage to pry the belpw piece from JC's collection and he had also picked up Domi game used gloves for me at the Canadiens equipment sale. Needless to say I'll be spending a part of the day rearranging my Montreal Canadiens shrine.
Also scored the moth of all trades! #gohabsgo pic.twitter.com/vOdb7wXLUU
— Karine Hains (@Pheebs888) November 30, 2018
No games for the Habs again tonight but should something noteworthy happen in the day, I'll update this post.
Have a good day people!