The Montreal Canadiens returned to practice today in Brossard after having gone 0-3-1 on their 4 game Western Conference road trip. It was a frustrating week for the Canadiens as they were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. In each game they scored 2 goals but that is not enough to win games, especially without Carey Price in net. Essentially the road trip felt seemed to replicate the play of the Canadiens back in December when they tried hard but could not get the results. The one positive that came out of all the losing was the play of Alex Galchenyuk and the decision to play at center on the top line against the Winnipeg Jets.
Galchenyuk has been one of the most productive Canadiens as of late with 7 goals in his last 6 games. With his confidence being high, head coach Michel Therrien finally decided to reward Galchenyuk with the opportunity to center Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher. Unfortunately they had very little time together as a unit as Gallagher suffered a lower body injury, likely a groin pull when he fell awkwardly in the first period and left the game. The trio did show some early promise though as they did generate 2 scoring chances through 7 shifts. Even without Gallagher though, the chemistry displayed last season between Pacioretty and Galchenyuk was evident. These two enjoyed playing together. Pacioretty’s pass to Galchenyuk for the team’s first goal against Winnipeg was that of perfection, as was Galchenyuk’s finish. Sven Andrighetto took Gallagher’s place on the right side for the rest of the game but was not very noticeable compared to his linemates.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens though, when it rains it absolutely pours. Following practice today it was announced that Gallagher is to undergo further medical evaluations and will not play tomorrow night against the Dallas Stars.
Gallagher will not play tomorrow. He will undergo medical tests this afternoon.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 7, 2016
To make matters worse, Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller are now questionable for the game as well. At first it was thought that they were taking therapy days when they did not suit up for practice. Apparently Galchenyuk has an upper body injury while Eller has a lower body injury. They might play tomorrow but the Canadiens will need to call up yet another forward from St. John’s. Hopefully Charles Hudon will get the next opportunity as he is very well deserving of it…
#Habs Eller's injury is a lingering upper body issue and Galchenyuk's is lower body, sustained in Winnipeg.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) March 7, 2016
At practice, they did not have enough forwards to even complete 4 lines:
En raison des absents, les trios sont:
— Jonathan Bernier (@JBernierJDM) March 7, 2016
Pacioretty-Plekanec-Andrighetto
Matteau-McCarron-Byron
Lessio-JDLR-Mitchell
Danault-Brown#CH #habs
One should not read very much into those lines until more is known tomorrow. The only thing to take away from it is Lucas Lessio is on the 3rd line and so it looks like there is a chance he might play against Dallas regardless of who is in or out. The one bit of good news is that it appears Nathan Beaulieu is getting closer to returning to action as Morgan Ellis was sent back to St. John’s on Saturday afternoon.
In other hockey news today, it was revealed that Jonathan Drouin has finally had some sense knocked into him and will be re-joining the Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate. He will no longer be suspended by the Lightning.
Jonathan Drouin of the @TBLightning is reporting to Syracuse of AHL today. He has to report today to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) March 7, 2016
Drouin needs to get back into game shape to prove his value to the teams who were interested in acquiring him. Refusing to report to the Crunch was an immature move and his agent Allan Walsh was wrong to advise Drouin not to play at the time. One thing to note though is that Drouin could still get traded now but he would not be eligible for the NHL playoffs, not a problem for a team that is out of the race. If the Canadiens are still seriously interested in Drouin, I would argue that now is as good of time as any to acquire him, depending on the asking price of course. There are 16 games left in the season and should the Canadiens be able to acquire him now, that is really bonus time for him to develop chemistry with next year’s lineups. It is very obvious that the Canadiens are missing 2 skilled players in the top six. While Nikita Scherbak might fill that void one day, it is really impossible to say that for sure he will be ready come September. Daniel Carr once healthy might be able to play on the second line as well but again that is a maybe. Drouin instantly makes the top six better and these last 16 games would give him the best chance to get used to the Canadiens system and that much more comfortable when coming into camp next season. Of course this is all dependent on what Steve Yzerman’s asking price is and if the Canadiens can meet it…
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