The Montreal Canadiens take on the Arizona Coyotes tonight. It is somewhat customary around the league to dress depth players against former teams, but once again the Habs are not.
The Montreal Canadiens take on the Arizona Coyotes tonight to kick off a quick three game road trip. They are heading west to take on the Coyotes, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars in the next four days. When you are playing three road games in four days, it is unlikely that you will use the exact same roster every night.
It’s important to have a bit of a rotation of players to keep things fresh in the lineup. Right now, the Habs are carrying one extra forward and two extra defenders. The extra forward has been Jordan Weal for the past several games, and one of Brett Kulak or Mike Reilly as well as Christian Folin have been joining him in the press box.
I would imagine all of those players will play at least one game in the next four days. With games on back to back nights and travel in between, we will likely see plenty of tinkering with the lineup.
Typically, when teams have depth players that are in and out of the lineup, they are usually in the lineup when facing a former team. Montreal Canadiens Head Coach Claude Julien clearly does not subscribe to that theory.
When the Habs played the Minnesota Wild on October 17th, their two defensive scratches were Reilly and Folin. You could argue this was based on merit, but they have been cycling in and out with Cale Fleury and Kulak. Both Reilly and Folin started their careers with the Wild. Folin played the next game against the St. Louis Blues, but was scratched once again on October 20th when the Wild visited Montreal.
I’m sure Folin and Reilly would have liked the opportunity to play against their former team. It’s odd that Folin would be scratched for both games against the Wild, but play the one game in between the two Wild contests.
Tonight, the Habs face the Coyotes and they are leaving a former Coyote, Jordan Weal, in the press box. Weal was acquired last season from the Coyotes for Michael Chaput. Weal only scored two points in his 19 games with the Coyotes, but I’m sure he’d love the chance to prove they shouldn’t have given up on his so soon.
These players aren’t the best players on the team. They are healthy scratches for a reason. However, they are also good enough hockey players to be on an NHL roster for a reason. Sometimes they just need an extra bit of motivation to help their team win a game on a given night.
When a player suits up against the team that gave up on them before they had a chance to prove themselves, it can bring out the best in them. You see it around the league all the time. A player breaks out of a slump when he is facing a team that didn’t re-sign him or traded him away for a depth pick.
The Canadiens top six is really clicking right now and their fourth line of Nick Suzuki, Nate Thompson and Nick Cousins has shown some real chemistry. Their third line of Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Artturi Lehkonen and Paul Byron has really struggled to score. Why not through Weal in over Byron for a game to see if he can light a spark under Kotkaniemi and Lehkonen? Byron has zero goals and two points in 11 games. What do you have to lose by sitting him for one game?
It would be nice if Julien would give these depth players a chance to prove themselves when they are surely the most motivated to do so. Especially on a road trip far away from home and with three games in four nights. Weal will get back in the lineup soon, why not tonight against his former team?