|
Back to their Winning Ways? |
|
|
|
|
|
First, the good news: whatever happens tonight we will not get to hear the oh so annoying canon that fires every time the Jackets score in Columbus and this will be the second game in as many nights for John Torterella's men. On Montreal's side, Paul Byron actually practiced with his teammates this morning which was a first since Super Bowl Sunday. Renaud Lavoie reported that he was skating and taking shots yesterday, adding that he could be back this week:
At practice, the lines were as follows:
Tatar - Thompson - Gallagher
Drouin - Domi - Armia
Lehkonen/Byron - Kotkaniemi - Shaw
Hudon - Peca - Weise
Now, don't panic! Danault was not at practice for family reasons (his wife is due to deliver their baby any day now) hence why Thompson was centering Tatar and Gallagher. It's interesting to see that Byron (in a normal jersey, none of that no contact stuff) was alternating with Lehkonen on the third line especially since Lehkonen stayed to do some extra work at the end of practice while the Roadrunner 2.0 didn't. Also worthy of note, Drouin and Domi are back together with... Armia?!?! What the?!?! Am I the only one who remembers that some of Drouin and Domi's best moments were alongside Andrew Shaw? Why not leave Armia on the 3rd line which should benefit greatly from Paul Byron's addition? Looks like Deslauriers will be the odd man out tonight for a second consecutive game and it seems like Hudon and Peca are being showcased for trading purpose (although should Danault play, I wonder who'll be scratched Peca or Thompson?). Should Byron be ready to go, Dale Weise could be sent down to Laval to make room for him on the roster without going through waivers. Finally, Jeff Petry also missed practice as he had a therapy day. John Lu reported this from practice:
#Habs Julien saysPetry(therapyday) probablywillplayand thathisabsence thismorningwasnot injury-related. Byron (forearm) mightplayif hegetsmedicalclearance thisafternoon. Danault(familyreasons) isquestionable.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) February19, 2019
The Blue Jackets suffered the wrath of the Lightning last night. Much like the Canadiens Saturday night, they were dominated in a 5-1 loss. In its last 10 games, Columbus is 5-5 and is not in a Canadiens' like slump. If the Habs are not ready tonight, the fans could once again be very disappointed. It hasn't been confirmed as I write this that Carey Price will be in net, but it would be the logical choice, even if that would mean 3 games in 4 days for him. Price is still on 309 wins, 5 short of Jacques Plante's franchise record and if he wants to get there, the Habs will have to get back to their winning ways.
Edit: a look at the PP lines today at practice thanks to Basu:
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»