The Montreal Canadiens have stayed in the province of Alberta after Thursday’s loss to the Calgary Flames, waiting in Edmonton for a matchup with David Desharnais and the Oilers on Sunday.
Saturday afternoon they took the ice for some drills as they hope for a better performance than what they managed in a 5-0 shutout loss in their previous outing.
The first bit of news was that flu bug which forced Torrey Mitchell to miss some of Tuesday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks and put Carey Price out of action for Thursday’s game has now found its way to Paul Byron.
Not practising today for the Canadiens: B. Flynn (injured), N. Nesterov (maintenance day), P. Byron (flu).
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 11, 2017
It seems that Price has recovered from the illness, and was able to get back into his regular duties alongside Thursday’s starter, Al Montoya.
#Habs: Carey Price saute sur la glace avec Al Montoya pour recevoir des tirs de Stéphane Waite.
— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) March 11, 2017
Tomas Plekanec was spotted in a no-contact jersey, meaning he’s unlikely to play tomorrow.
Tomas Plekanec s’entraîne avec un chandail «sans contact» / Tomas Plekanec is wearing a “no contact” jersey at practice #GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 11, 2017
But after a few days out with a lower-body injury, it appears Alexander Radulov will be back to give the team a massive boost against the skilled Oilers.
#Habs: Alexander Radulov porte un chandail rouge. Ça sent le retour au jeu.
— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) March 11, 2017
When line rushes began, the formation looked a bit different, with Andrew Shaw moving up to the top line with Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault.
Radulov slotted in on Alex Galchenyuk’s right side, with Artturi Lehkonen remaining on his left.
#Habs: De nouveaux trios.
Pacioretty-Danault-Shaw
Lehkonen-Galchenyuk-Radulov
King-Mitchell-Gallagher
Martinsen-Ott-McCarron— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) March 11, 2017
On defence the Alexei Emelin-Jeff Petry pairing remains intact, and it seems Brandon Davidson won’t get the chance to play his former team.
#Habs: À la ligne bleue
Markov-Weber
Emelin-Petry
Beaulieu-BennDavidson en trop.
— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) March 11, 2017
