On Friday evening, the Montreal Canadiens announced the recall of forward Michael McCarron and defenceman Mark Barberio from the St. John’s IceCaps of the American Hockey League.
Canadiens have recalled forward Michael McCarron and defenseman Mark Barberio from the AHL St. John’s IceCaps tonight.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 10, 2016
After a slow start to the season, McCarron has been picking it up of late, and had one of his best games on the season on Friday evening, registering eight shots on goal, one of which was converted for his fourth goal of the season to go with eight assists. McCarron played 20 games for the Canadiens last season, scoring a goal and adding an assist in that time.
This will be Barberio’s second stint with the Canadiens this season, staying with the team for two weeks from November 23 to December 7. He was loaned to the IceCaps earlier this week. In 19 games with the IceCaps he has scored three goals and added 14 assists (three of those helpers coming in tonight’s game versus the Springfield Thunderbirds), being by far the most productive defenceman on the team.
The call-up of a forward became necessary because of the injuries to Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais thinning out the players — especially centremen — on the active roster, leaving only the minimum amount of 12. A similar situation left just six defencemen on the roster, as Greg Pateryn is slated to be out long term with a fractured ankle.
The Montreal Canadiens play on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche at the Bell Centre.
