The Montreal Canadiens will get a healthy body back into the lineup tonight as David Desharnais makes his return against the Detroit Red Wings tonight at the Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings are tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference but are in 9th position as the Flyers hold a game in hand. They are 9 points ahead of the Canadiens. It is somewhat incredulous to ponder that had the Canadiens were able to win just 5 more games between the months of December, January & February the Canadiens would be in a playoff position. I’m not sure what that says about the Canadiens or the other teams in the bottom portion of the standings. Desharnais has his share of critics but he is a useful NHL player and in the right role can help the Canadiens offence. Earlier in the season he thrived on the 3rd line with Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann but struggled once he was given additional responsibilities on the top line. It is not his fault that the coach puts him in a position to fail. In Desharnais’ return tonight, he will line up as the 3rd line center between Michael McCarron and Stefan Matteau. He has had success playing between two big forwards in the past and I don’t argue that. However, I question Michael McCarron being shifted from center to right wing on the 3rd line. With the Canadiens struggling to score for the most part, I would have preferred McCarron to get the opportunity to play RW on one of the top two lines in place of Paul Byron and Torrey Mitchell.
To make room for Desharnais, Jacob De La Rose will be a healthy scratch and so Phillip Danault will center Mike Brown and Lucas Lessio on the fourth line. Ben Scrivens gets the start in goal for the Canadiens. P.K. Subban is still day-to-day with his neck injury.
It will also be a welcome home of sorts at the Joe Louis for Michigan natives McCarron and Greg Pateryn. Pateryn also played hockey at the University of Michigan for 4 years under the esteemed Red Berenson. McCarron said that he will have 40-50 friends and family at the game cheering him on.
Petr Mrazek gets the start in goal for Detroit. The Red Wings lineup will be:
Ce matin au Joe Louis Arena:
— Jonathan Bernier (@JBernierJDM) March 24, 2016
Abdelkader-Zetterberg-Larkin
Helm-Datsyuk-Mantha
Nyquist-Sheahan-Tatar
Athanasiou-Glendening-Richards#ch #habs
Puck drops at 7:30pm
Cheers & Enjoy the game! Follow @Jenbcutler