The Canadiens announced a couple of call-ups this morning. Firstly, the Laval Rocket captain Xavier Ouellet got the call, closely followed by Jake Evans. Why? Well, for Evans, it's clearly because of the flu going around and plenty of players being affected but as for Ouellet his recall was necessary because Shea Weber is injured and has been placed on the injured reserve. Julien has confirmed that Weber will miss at least a week but knowing the Canadiens, that means more than that. While some are upset with the news, to be honest, I don't necessarily see it as bad news. I mean let's be honest here, there isn't much incentive to win right now is there? Losing Weber might just help improve the Habs' drafting position. What can I say? I'm, trying to see the positive side of things. How did Weber get injured? Of course the Habs have not revealed it but it could be by blocking a shot at the end of last game? He sure did look in a lot of discomfort when it happened:
Meanwhile, the Habs' coach also announced that Weal wouldn't play tonight and that a few players might not be able to either:
And for those wondering what will happen with Kovalchuk he told TSN's John Lu this morning that he'd like to wait for a couple of weeks before asking his agent to open talks on a possible extension with the Habs. Right now, he wants to focus on catching up to other teams in the playoffs race. Is that just a polite way to answer the question or does he really mean it? I mean he could hardly say I expect I'll be shipped out at the deadline could he?
Meanwhile in Laval last night, the Rocket picked up an overtime win over the Utica Comets and the Evans-Kotkaniemi-Hudon line had itself quite a good night at the office. They each picked up 3 points, KK with 3 assists and the other 2 with a pair of goals and an assist. It was fun to watch that game and see Kotkaniemi running things on the power play and finding passing lanes all over the place. If there was any doubt about whether this move to Laval would be good or not for him, I believe it has now been put to rest. The results are there and the kid looks like he's really enjoying himself with more ice time and playing a bigger role.
The puck drops at 19:00 in Montréal tonight and we'll see if the trend of struggling against bottom team carries on. The Ducks are currently second to last in the western conference with 49 points in 53 games but don't forget, the Canadiens have had issues beating the likes of Detroit and New Jersey this season so even a game against the Ducks could be a challenge.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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