Montreal Canadiens Day Off: Greg Pateryn Gets The Call

You can’t help but hate the off days as a fan, but you do get to build some anticipation for the next game in the series. It’s been an interesting time off since

Mar 30, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Greg Pateryn (64) checks Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) during the first period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

the Habs took Game 3, so let’s dive right in and get through the bulk:

The biggest news of the day for the Habs is that Nathan Beaulieu will miss the remainder of the series agains the Ottawa Senators. Considering that could mean 1 game, it doesn’t really mean much right now. It will, however, be interesting to see if he’ll return in the next series if and when the Habs get there.
Greg Pateryn is expected to take Beaulieu’s spot on the blue line for Game 4. “Pateryn’s appeared in 20 games (17 this season), but he’s never played a Stanley Cup Playoff contest. Tom Gilbert will move to the left side to partner up with the rookie on Montreal’s third pair.” Therrien is surely stepping on some toes by calling him in ahead of Sergei Gonchar or Mike Weaver, but in the end, the Habs wanted the most balanced and physical of the 3 to play Game 4.
Brendan Gallagher is a fan of the move and speaks highly of Pateryn’s skills “[Pateryn] is gonna compete; he’s gonna finish checks; he’s going to be hard to play against; he’s got a very good shot that’s heavy and he’s just a complete player,”
Pateryn drew praise from Montreal coaches in January and when you can get someone like Michel Therrien to praise you publicly, you know you’re doing something right!
For those who don’t know, the Habs acquired Greg Pateryn from the Toronto Maple Leafs when they dealt Mikhail Grabovski. He is 24 years old and is making $550,000 this season ($562,500 Cap Hit)
The Leafs drafted Pateryn in the 5th round, 128th overall, of the 2008 draft, just 6 picks after the Tampa Bay Lightning selected fellow Hab Dustin Tokarski.

Dec 7, 2014; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators center Zack Smith (15) and Vancouver Canucks right wing Derek Dorsett (51) battle for the puck in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

For Ottawa, they’ll call on Zack Smith to replace David Legwand who hasn’t had much of an impact in the series so far.

Apparently some fans in Montreal deserve a lesson in manners. There’s no reason Sens fans should be treated disrespectfully as some did in Game 2. Hopefully it’s a one time event that will prove to be an outlier.

The Montreal Canadiens, meanwhile, did the right thing and reached out to the harassed fans. If anything, the fans who harassed them should be identified and barred from attending future games. There’s no room for that kind of fan in the arena.

Pat Hickey talks about the evidence of strength at forward for the Habs during these playoffs. You can definitely see that Michel Therrien is willing to play any line, any time, and that each line is able to contribute.

Erik Karlsson is earning praise despite his team being down 3-0 in the series. Rightfully so. He’s been the best player on the ice for the Senators and sometimes seems to have a body double on the ice. He hasn’t taken one shift off, and we can expect that to remain the same for Game 4.

We’re really looking forward to Game 4 and hope Greg Pateryn has an immediate and positive impact as he joins Tom Gilbert on the third pairing of the Habs D.

As he steps into the limelight, here are a few videos to help you get familiarized with the youngster getting his the chance to make his playoff debut:

Here’s a video showing his offensive potential:

Enjoy the rest of the day without Habs playoff hockey, rest up, and know that tomorrow, we’ll be yelling:

IT’S GAME DAY BABY!!!

Montreal Canadiens Day Off: Greg Pateryn Gets The Call

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