Update: The Canadiens fired assistant coach Perry Pearn, who was responsible for the defensemen and special teams. GM Pierre Gauthier is to address the media at 7pm. Max Pacioretty was in the warm-up and will play tonight
Canadiens fans, it’s finally here. After three or four summers of speculation, rumors and teasing, Jaromir Jagr finally arrives in Montreal, just in a Philadelphia Flyers jersey.
The future Hall of Fame forward has shown no signs of missing a step, since his return from the KHL, with 7 points in his first 8 games. Jagr has had an all-star career against the Canadiens. In 67 games, Jagr has 39 goals and 41 assists.
The two teams meet for the first time this season, with the Flyers taking last season’s series 3-1 with a slightly different cast of characters. One of them is goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who is a career 0-2-1 against the Habs, during his days with the Phoenix Coyotes.
Philadelphia is coming off a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The down side to that win was the loss of Chris Pronger. The Flyers rearguard took a stick to the eye, from the dastardly Mikhail Grabovski, and could miss 2-3 weeks. But don’t underestimate the Flyers, even without Pronger they have one of the best defenses in the league.
The Canadiens would like nothing more than snapping their six-game winless streak, before facing the Boston Bruins in a home-in-home series.
Max Pacioretty is nursing partially torn ligaments in his wrist, suffered in Monday’s loss to the Florida Panthers, and his return remains unclear. Jacques Martin said after the morning skate that he would be a game time decision.. In the meantime Aaron Palushaj was called up Monday.
Price gets the call in goal, for the Canadiens, in quest of that milestone 100th win. “I’m one loss away from putting on a garter belt, Bull Durham style,” Price said after Tuesday’s practice, referring to his pink pads and mask and the team’s current losing stretch.Price has dropped the pink pads in an effort to snap the losing streak.
PROJECTED MONTREAL CANADIENS LINEUP
Forwards
Travis Moen – Tomas Plekanec – Brian Gionta
Andrei Kostitsyn – Lars Eller – Mike Cammalleri
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Erik Cole
Mike Blunden – Petteri Nokelainen – Mathieu Darche
Defense Pairings
Jaroslav Spacek – Yannick Weber
Goalies
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Brayden Schenn – Danny Briere – Wayne Simmonds
Scott Hartnell – Claude Giroux – Jaromir Jagr
James van Riemsdyk – Matt Read – Jakub Voracek
Jody Shelley – Sean Couturier – Maxime Talbot
Defense Pairings
Kimmo Timonen – Matt Carle
Braydon Coburn – Andrej Meszaros
Goalies
Ilya Bryzgalov – Sergei Bobrovsky
Flyers coverage from Broad Street Hockey
