Montreal Canadiens: Possible lines and pairings at the Red vs. White Scrimmage
The Montreal Canadiens will be holding their Canadian Tire Red vs. White Scrimmage and the lineups are set for the afternoon game.
It’ll be Montreal Canadiens teammate vs. Montreal Canadiens teammate Sunday afternoon. The Canadian Tire Red vs. White Scrimmage is a fun event at training camp that allows the players to get in some playing time before the preseason begins.
Since the on-ice sessions began on Friday, the entire 66-player camp roster has been split into two groups (A and B) with a smaller Group C. Team’s Red and White will coincide with those groups respectively (with a tweak here and there), but not everyone is taking part. The Habs site released what the lineups will be for each team.
Team A (Red)
Forwards
Michael Chaput, Phillip Danault, Jacob de la Rose, Nicolas Deslauriers, Byron Froese, Brendan Gallagher, Charles Hudon, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Artturi Lehkonen, Hunter Shinkaruk, Tomas Tatar, and Lukas Vejdemo.
Defence
Karl Alzner, Simon Despres, Noah Juulsen, Victor Mete, David Schlemko, David Sklenicka, and Rinat Valiev.
Goaltenders
Charlie Lindgren and Michael McNiven.
Team B (White)
Forwards
Jeremiah Addison, Kenny Agostino, Joel Armia, Will Bitten, Paul Byron, Max Domi, Jonathan Drouin, Alexandre Grenier, Michael McCarron, Matthew Peca, Nikita Scherbak, and Nick Suzuki.
Defence
Jordie Benn, Josh Brook, Cale Fleury, Brett Lernout, Xavier Ouellet, Jeff Petry, and Mike Reilly.
Goaltenders
Antti Niemi and Carey Price.
Keeping in mind that this is a fun intrasquad game, we also can’t ignore the impact this event has had on roster decisions. Mete stood out at development camp and the Rookie Tournament last year, but it was at this game where we first saw him pair up with Shea Weber. Additionally, we got a glimpse of the chemistry between Hudon, Lehkonen, and Plekanec after the former had that hat-trick.
Predictions
Assuming the coaching staff wants to remain consistent and try to establish some in-game chemistry, they’ll run the same lines and pairings they had in each respective group. There will be some alterations, however, considering not everyone was named to play in the game. Therefore:
Team A
Tatar – Danault – Gallagher
Deslauriers – Kotkaniemi – Lehkonen
Shinkaruk – Vejdemo – Hudon
Chaput – de la Rose – Froese
Mete – Juulsen
Alzner – Schlemko
Despres – Sklenicka/Valiev
Vejdemo was originally in Group B, and it makes sense for him to take over Plekanec’s spot in between Shinkurak and Hudon. He showed in the Rookie Tournament that he could be an effective and reliable player on the ice. What stood out the most was the short passes he was able to make in the neutral zone to advance the puck. A quality like that could work well playing with someone like Hudon
Team B
Drouin – Domi – Armia
Byron – Suzuki – Scherbak
Agostino – Peca – Grenier
Addison – McCarron – Bitten
Benn – Petry
Reilly – Lernout
Ouellet – BrooK/Fleury
Bitten would be in a similar situation as Vejdemo, switching groups yet taking Alexandre Alain’s spot on the McCarron line. As far as storylines go, this is the more interesting team.
Related Story. Centre Experiments. light
The Montreal Canadiens have been running with this experiment of having Domi at centre in between Drouin and Armia. This will be one of the few tests to see if it can be a long-term option. Additionally, Suzuki is going to be catching many’s attention as he as the big piece acquired in the Max Pacioretty trade. Claude Julien is giving him an opportunity to play down the middle as well and hopefully; he makes use of that elite hockey IQ that’s put his name out there.
Pushing Along the Narrative
More from A Winning Habit
- Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
- Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
- Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
- Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
- Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?
A number of those storylines discussed ahead of camp can still get some evidence for and against at this game. Kotkaniemi had a rollercoaster performance at the Rookie Showdown, but his level of play improved as he got more used to the smaller ice and the need for quicker reaction time.
All three members of the 4C Battle will be taking part as well. Of the three, Peca seems to have been placed in the best position lining up with Kenny Agostino. I’ve looked at his playing career in a previous post, and Agostino has been a dominating force in the AHL for a number of years. His playmaking ability is at it’s best when playing with other skilled forwards, but he can also score at a decent level when he shoots the puck. Peca and Agostino will be a fun duo to watch as they have the potential to bring out the best in each other.
The same can be said about McCarron and Addison to an extent. Both play more physical, but Addison is a much better forechecker. In normal circumstances, you could say that McCarron and Addison could create time and space to get the puck to a skilled winger for scoring chances. However, Bitten isn’t shy to do things himself and beat out opponents using his speed.
Next. Getting to know Tatar. dark
The list goes on. Will Domi at centre work? Can Fleury do enough to stay out of Brook’s shadow? Can Lindgren outplay Niemi? Those questions will be answered at 1:00 PM. If you’re attending the game, try to get there earlier as players are going to be welcoming fans through the doors at 11:00 AM.