from canadiens.com
Mar 13, 2009, 2:41 PM EDT
BROSSARD – In today’s Habs Notebook, find out where Jaroslav Halak will be spending his Saturday night, whether Kovy is feeling better and if there will be a sizeable addition to the Canadiens lineup tomorrow.
Halak is back: Winner of his last four starts prior to coming down with his flu virus, Jaroslav Halak will return to the Habs crease against the Devils. The young netminder will make his second career start against New Jersey.
Kovy still catchy: After sitting out Thursday night’s loss to the Islanders, Alex Kovalev was also missing in action at practice on Friday. Still considered to be contagious by team doctors, Kovalev wasn’t the only absentee with Tom Kostopoulos not skating for what was deemed a therapy day for the rugged winger.
Guillaume gets the green light: Out since Feb. 1 with a shoulder injury, Guillaume Latendresse received the okay from team doctors to return to action. No word yet as to when the big winger might get back in the lineup.
“Guillaume is among the forwards available to me on Saturday,” said Bob Gainey. “We will make a decision on Saturday as to who will make up our lineup against the Devils.”
Perseverance personified: Shelved for the Canadiens’ previous four match-ups, Patrice Brisebois is set to join the quadruple digit club when he suits up for his 1,000th career game this Saturday night. The Habs’ head coach, himself having reached the same plateau in 1986-87, took the opportunity to shower the defenseman with a little praise.
“There are milestones in a player’s career that deserve to be recognized and playing 1,000 NHL games is one of them,” explained Gainey, who will make room for “Breezer” by sitting Ryan O’Byrne, “It’s a testament to Patrice’s longevity and his performance and to be able to stay and compete and to be a good enough player to be in the NHL and play 1,000 games. I’m glad Patrice can reach that milestone here where he started his career.”
Manny Almela is a writer for canadiens.com