It’ll be a change of scenery for the Montreal Canadiens as their next six games will be on the road after a playing the last five at the Bell Centre.
The Montreal Canadiens will have to breathe this in. This will be the final ‘lengthy’ road trip for the team now that the NHL regular season is getting to close to the end. The first stop will be Brooklyn for a rematch against the New York Islanders ending with a date in Columbus on the 12th. Facing the Islanders again should be exciting. If they weren’t desperate for points before the Habs beat them 3-1, then they’ll do anything, or should do anything, to get them tonight.
With all the extras on the team, Claude Julien probably won’t be afraid to have minor tweaks here and there as the road trip continues. I doubt he plans to have Nicolas Deslauriers or Daniel Carr as healthy scratches for the rest of the season. However, the team has been entertaining to watch, which again, we have to attribute to the newly added youth.
The improved play of some of the core players has been something to watch as well. Jonathan Drouin is the most recent example after the effort he had against Islanders.
There may be another last-minute addition depending on how things go for Carey Price. Julien mentioned before the Habs headed out that Price wouldn’t be accompanying them to New York, but some time during the road trip was possible. If that happens then, Charlie Lindgren will have to make the most out of the starts he hopes to get.
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Considering he’s an emergency recall, the Habs have to send him back to the AHL as soon as Price is healthy. It’s definitely a bittersweet situation, but it won’t be long before he’s in the NHL full-time.
As the rest of the games are going to go until April, the coaching staff is going to be looking for a team who can continue to play the right way. Although we’re mostly focusing on Noah Juulsen, Nikita Scherbak, and Mike Reilly, they’re not going to be the only players back next season. The Habs are going to be up against some determined teams, each providing an opportunity to dial themselves in and put up a winning effort.
It’s easy to say that the who organization should through this year away, but some good things could be taken from it. Let’s see if anything new can come out of this road trip.
Morning Links
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There’s no doubt that both Alex Galchenyuk and Scherbak, be it in smaller sample size, have been two of the most improved players on the team this season and although he’s had his struggles, Drouin is showing similar growth as well.
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