Habs News: Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Joel Edmundson, Shea Weber, Brendan Gallagher, Jake Evans, Dominique Ducharme, Seattle Kraken

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GAME DAY: MTL @ SEA

The Montreal Canadiens begin their four-game road trip as they take on the NHL’s 32nd franchise for the very first time in Seattle.

Puck drop is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET.

Watch for our full game preview available on Tuesday afternoon. Post-game we will publish a comprehensive game recap.

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Game Expectations

The Canadiens finally got the first win under their belts with a 6-1 victory over the Red Wings on Saturday night. The Canadiens know that they will have to keep the streak going on the road trip.

“We understand that our record isn’t what we want right now. We can feel good about one win, but it is just that – it’s just one win. You take the good, you understand the work that went in to get that result, and you need to continue to get better and build on that,” said Brendan Gallagher.

“We’re definitely not feeling too good about ourselves. We understand the situation we’re in. We have an opportunity on this road trip, if we’re able to play some good hockey, to maybe leave this thing in a little better situation.”

The Canadiens know that the Kraken will be anxious to pick up the first home win of their franchise.

“They’re new to this rink. It’ll be their second game, and so we expect a lot of energy,” said Jake Evans. “Just with the way the team was built, there’s a lot of guys that want to prove themselves. We expect high-compete, so it’ll be a really tough game.”

Forward Lines / Defence Pairs / Goalies

On Monday afternoon, the Canadiens practiced in Seattle at 3:30 pm. ET with the same set of forward lines and defensive pairs that delivered a win on Saturday night in the Bell Centre.

These were the forward lines, defence pairings and goaltenders:

Mike Hoffman – Nick Suzuki – Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin – Christian Dvorak – Josh Anderson
Tyler Toffoli – Mathieu Perreault – Cole Caufield
Artturi Lehkonen – Jake Evans – Joel Armia
Cedric Paquette – Adam Brooks

Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry
Alexander Romanov –  David Savard
Sami Niku – Brett Kulak
Chris Wideman

Jake Allen – Samuel Montembeault

Injury Update

Canadiens defenceman Joel Edmundson has returned to Montreal after attending to his father in Manitoba who is battling lung cancer. Edmundson did not join the team for their four-game road trip instead working on rehabbing from an injury with on-ice workouts.

Head coach Dominique Ducharme said that Edmundson should be ready to return to the lineup once the team returns from the road trip.

“We all miss [Edmundson],” said Ducharme. “When he comes back, it will definitely help our whole defensive brigade. Everyone will fall back into their places.”

On Tuesday, Canadiens defenceman Shea Weber is expected to visit with the team in Seattle. While the captain won’t be playing with the team this season, there’s no doubt that his presence will boost the mood of his teammates.

Here is the Canadiens current injury list:

Joel Edmundson (undisclosed) – week-to-week
Mattias Norlinder (lower-body) – indeterminate
Carey Price (player assistance program) – indeterminate
Paul Byron (hip) – end of December
Shea Weber (multiple injuries) – out for the season

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