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Cayden Primeau and Otto Leskinen will be making their NHL debuts Thursday night as the Montreal Canadiens host the Colorado Avalanche at the Bell Centre.
Claude Julien confirms Cayden Primeau is starting tonight. Says he wanted to save Carey Price for the conference opponent tomorrow night in New York.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) December 5, 2019
Aside from Primeau, Leskinen skated with fellow rookie Cale Fleury on the third pairing. No other lineup changes are expected for the Canadiens. Leskinen is taking Gustav Olofsson’s spot.
#Habs vs #Avalanche:
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) December 5, 2019
Tatar - Danault - Gallagher
Cousins - Domi - Suzuki
Lehkonen - Kotkaniemi - Armia
Peca - Thompson - Weal
Chiarot - Weber
Kulak - Petry
Leskinen* - Fleury
Price
Primeau
*Leskinen is making his NHL debut.
Leskinen and Fleury could have conceivably been an expected pairing in Laval this season, but circumstances have them playing together with Fleury being the more experienced NHL player. Leskinen has played several years as a professional in Finland.
It will remain to be seen how much that pairing plays, but the Canadiens will have last change and the Avalanche played last night — a 3-1 win in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.
Carey Price will return to the Canadiens net on Friday night when the Canadiens face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden before the team gets a rare Saturday night off.