Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Carey Price, Samuel Montembeault, Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron, Brendan Gallagher, Cayden Primeau, Tyler Toffoli, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — On Saturday, the Avalanche led by two goals on Saturday, before Artturi Lehkonen and Nick Suzuki scored and send the game into overtime. In the second minute, Gabriel Landeskog was left uncovered and he capitalized to give Colorado the 3-2 victory.
“We’re working at trying to keep everything from the outside. So sometimes you will give more shots, but the quality of the shots, we want to keep it as less dangerous as possible,” Dominique Ducharme said about Montreal allowing 23 shots in the first period. “We played better in the second period. I thought our forecheck was better, we made them play defence a lot more, we created some good chances.”
Montreal was the biggest underdog in the NHL for any game this season, and put on a respectable effort against the league’s hottest team.
The Canadiens held an off-ice workout in Minnesota on Sunday, ahead of Monday night’s game versus the Wild.
Injury Updates
On Saturday, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie provided an update on Carey Price‘s health status. Lavoie reported that the Canadiens goaltender was in the gym last week, and if everything goes well, he will return to the ice within the next two weeks. Price has stopped skating twice since his surgery, as swelling on his knee returned two times. The goal is that Price plays this season.
Samuel Montembeault missed Saturday’s game with a wrist injury. The team’s trainers are confident that rest will improve the situation. Montembeault entered the record book last week, becoming the first goalie in Canadiens history to make 48 or more saves in back-to-back games.
Jonathan Drouin was added to injured reserve with an upper body injury. The forward was not able to finish Thursday night’s game in Vegas and returned to Montreal for further evaluation.
Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher will join the team on Wednesday when the Canadiens return from the road trip. Byron was previously expected to join the team in Arizona last Monday.
Primeau Solid in Goal
Cayden Primeau made a career high 43 saves on Saturday, including 22 stops through 20 minutes. “It helps you get into the game early when you’re seeing a bunch of shots,” Primeau said. The goaltender kept his team in the game.
“Credit to the guys, they blocked a bunch, and put their bodies on the line. [Colorado Avalanche] could’ve had even more shots, but the guys definitely helped out,” Primeau praised his teammates.
In his previous start, Primeau was pulled after allowing four goals on 16 shots in 40 minutes against Arizona. At that time, Primeau had not played in one month, and spent two weeks in isolation due to COVID protocol. Ducharme said that Primeau worked hard with goalie coach Eric Raymond to prepare for his start in Colorado.
“We’re happy to see a young goalie like him, against one of the best teams in the NHL, show character and play a good game,” Ducharme said on Saturday.
During Montembeault’s absence, it may force the Canadiens to give Primeau plenty of starts. In an ideal world, Primeau would continue his development with the Rocket. Right now, Primeau and Michael McNiven are the only goalies in the organization with a NHL contract. If Montembeault’s injury forces him to miss significant amount of time, new general manager Kent Hughes might be tempted to add a goalie.
Toffoli on Roll
Tyler Toffoli returned to the lineup on Tuesday after missing 11 games with a hand injury that required surgery. Despite leading the team with 17 points at the time of the injury, Toffoli was having a disappointing season. His production is significantly below to last season.
Since his return, the forward has been playing his best hockey of the season, collecting two goals, and two assists in three games. “I definitely feel pretty good, I’m feeling confident out there,” Toffoli said in Colorado. He has been used on the top line with Nick Suzuki, on the power play, and the penalty kill.
The time away from the ice seems to have benefited Toffoli. “I think honestly just realizing that it’s fun playing hockey. It’s hard, but it’s fun.” With his injury and getting COVID, the forward was separated from his teammates for a month. “I just missed being around the guys, and it’s fun. A lot of energy. I know the season hasn’t gone the way that we had hoped or what we want. At the end of the day, we’re still trying our hardest.”
Ducharme is happy with what he’s seeing now from the veteran. “It’s the Tyler we know, we saw him last year. I think for a player like him, he had a tough start to the season, the summer was short. Unfortunately, he got hurt.”
Teasdale’s Imminent Return
The Rocket had the weekend off after the home-and-home series against the Senators were postponed due to attendance restrictions in Quebec, and Ontario.
This week, Laval will head to Texas to face the Stars on Friday and Saturday. The teams split the series at Place Bell in early December. Jean-Francois Houle is expected to have Joel Teasdale and Xavier Ouellet in the lineup on the weekend.
Teasdale practised with this teammates for the first time last week since suffering a knee injury in May that required surgery. He has received the green light from team’s doctors to return play. Last season, the forward collected 18 points in 26 games.
Ouellet has been practising with a no-contact jersey, and Houle said that there’s a 95-percent chance that he will play versus Texas. The captain’s has not played since November 26th with a lower body injury. In 17 games, Ouellet has collected three goals and eight assists.
Coach Delivers Message
The Lions returned to action on the weekend with three road games, after 21 days off due to a COVID outbreak and postponements. On Friday, Cedric Montminy scored the game winning goal with 3:28 remaining for the 4-3 win against the Railers.
“We cheated a little too much to my liking and we got penalties, which cost us two goals. The positive thing is that we found a way to win. I expected it to be a bit messy. There are some things that bothered me,” Eric Belanger said.
On Saturday, it took 56 seconds for Reading to get on the board, and they headed to a 2-1 win over Trois-Rivieres. The coach was disappointed with the team’s performance against their division rivals.
“This is one of my three most frustrating games of the year. We didn’t want to play the right way, we wanted an easy game, without blocking shots or going in front of the opponent’s net. I hated our game,” Belanger said.
The coach did not like the behaviour of his players. “There are guys who want their ice time and mope if they don’t get it. We have a lot of players now, so some don’t like it,” said a frustrated Belanger. “Some dare to complain sometimes that they do not play enough.”
On Sunday, Olivier Archambault scored in overtime to give the Lions a 3-2 victory against the Royals. Cameron Hillis, Justin Ducharme, and Shawn St-Amant were all healthy scratches. All three players were with Laval last week.
”I put good players in the stands, but there is no one that is bigger than the team. Messages have been passed. Some things internally did not satisfy us,” Belanger explained the decision.
(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)
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By Chris G., Senior Writer
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