The Montreal Canadiens took to the ice after a day off yesterday and before practice, the focus was the power play.
Habs doing PP work before practice. For now, units are:
PP1: Mete-Weber
Pacioretty-Drouin-LehkonenPP2: Petry
Byron-Plekanec-Hudon
Hemsky— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) October 13, 2017
With two d-men on top PP unit, appears Mete playing top and Weber slides down to left circle, or the Ovi spot. Which would be a good move.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) October 13, 2017
The power play getting a new look is an encouraging sign. With all the talent that it has, it has not scored a goal yet, so it may be good to change the roles of the players involved.
And before you get into wondering why Alex Galchenyuk was not on the power play, don’t worry. He did not skate at practice due to flu-like symptoms.
Alex Galchenyuk ne sera pas de l’entraînement aujourd’hui (symptômes grippaux).
Alex Galchenyuk not practicing today (flu-like symptoms).
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 13, 2017
There is no word on whether it will keep him out tomorrow, but it’s safe to assume this is just precautionary.
Before practice, David Schlemko, whose return was thought to be the reason Mark Streit was put on waivers, was not skating but that is because he is expected to play tonight for Laval on a conditioning stint.
David Schlemko is expected to play in Laval tonight for conditioning, hence his absence from practice this morning.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) October 13, 2017
With Galchenyuk out, there were no other changes to the lines from Wednesday’s practice.
#Habs lines (Galchenyuk ill):
Pacioretty – Drouin – Lehkonen
Byron – Plekanec – Gallagher
Hudon – Danault – Shaw
De La Rose-Mitchell-Hemsky— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) October 13, 2017
Habs D
Mete-Weber
Alzner-Petry
Benn-Davidson— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) October 13, 2017
On defence, Jordie Benn moved to the left side and with Schlemko’s return imminent (who also is a left-handed shot) you have to wonder if that’s a clue into who will be sitting on Saturday.
