Montreal Canadiens: Phillip Danault is back in the lineup

The Montreal Canadiens revealed some new lines at practice, and it looks like Phillip Danault will return to action against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Nikita Scherbak being sent down to the AHL makes a little more sense now. The Montreal Canadiens held practice this morning with the same defensive pairings but new forward lines. When the news got out about Scherbak, the assumption was that Andrew Shaw was returning to the lineup, but it looks like Phillip Danault will be the one to draw back in.

Danault was in between Alex Galchenyuk and Charles Hudon at practice. Galchenyuk started the season with him but couldn’t find any sense of a spark. However, Claude Julien may feel that with the 24-year-old’s play improving, he and Hudon could be a good fit for Danault. This also puts the ‘trying to form more chemistry with Jonathan Drouin‘ narrative to bed.

Speaking of Drouin, he had some new linemates as well in Max Pacioretty and Artturi Lehkonen. Julien has gone with that duo before, and he may feel like the team captain can find his offensive game again. The thing is, Habs fans don’t have a short memory. Drouin and Pacioretty have been a pair that hasn’t worked in the past, and there’s no evidence to prove that it could work now.

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The third and final alteration had Logan Shaw in between Daniel Carr and Nicolas Deslauriers. It was only a matter of time before the Habs moved L. Shaw to centre but seeing Deslauriers back in the rotation is a positive as well.

So, where is Andrew Shaw? The 26-year-old was practicing on what looked to be the fifth line with Jacob de La Rose and Byron Froese. There is no indication of when and where he will return to the Habs full time, but for now, it seems like he’ll still be sitting.

I did mention before that the team and Julien should be more open to trying things, so let’s see how these changes work for them.

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What do you make of the lineup changes? Can Galchenyuk work well with Danault? Let us know in the comments.