The Montreal Canadiens didn’t have a chance to hit the ice for practice this morning with a second game in 24 hours, but Dominique Ducharme provided an update ahead of the game versus the Ottawa Senators.
The biggest stories are on defence. Shea Weber will stay out of the lineup after missing Friday’s game with an upper-body injury. The play of the team without its captain surely gave the coaches — and Weber himself — the reassurance that he could continue to recover rather than rush back in. Brett Kulak will also draw back into the lineup after sitting out since April 19. He will replace Erik Gustafsson, though on which pairing we’ll have to have to see in pre-game warmups.
The win last night also allowed the team to give Cayden Primeau another start, and he’s looking to rebound after a four-goal outing in Calgary on April 24. He’d surely like to see the team as focused as it was yesterday, but he has shown an incredible bounce-back ability in his professional career so far as well.
Lastly there’s a bit of good news in the forward group. Joel Armia was crunched into the boards in the third period and was unable to finish the game. There was some concern about his head after he had just missed games with a concussion, but the coach expects he’ll be able to reprise his role on a line with Nick Suzuki and Tyler Toffoli.
The Canadiens will face the Ottawa Senators at 7:00 PM tonight.
