The Montreal Canadiens will get a boost on defence tonight as Victor Mete returns after missing ten games with an injury.
The Montreal Canadiens received good news on the injury front for the first time in a while this morning. Though Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron and Jesperi Kotkaniemi remain out of the lineup and there is no indication of how soon they will return, defenceman Victor Mete will be back in the lineup tonight.
The Canadiens play the Winnipeg Jets tonight in their final game before Christmas break. It is technically the fourth game of a seven game road trip, but the team will return to Montreal following tonight’s contest and then head to Florida to take on the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning on the weekend.
Mete returned to full activities at practice this morning and will skate on a third pairing with Cale Fleury tonight. This means Ben Chiarot will remain on the top pairing with Shea Weber, a spot usually filled by Mete, and Brett Kulak will saddle up next to Jeff Petry on the second pair.
Mete’s return should give the Canadiens a boost. He has played extremely well this season, with a newfound confidence that came with him scoring his first goal of his career. The 21 year old left defenceman has three goals and eight points in 26 games, but constantly carries the puck up ice out of trouble and gets the Habs set up to create offence in the attacking zone.
Mete plays a solid, steady two-way game and though he is undersized, he has often played top pairing minutes with Weber against tough opposition.
In Mete’s absence, Chiarot found tremendous chemistry with Weber and Kulak turned his game up a notch while skating alongside Petry. This will push Mete to the third pairing with Fleury, which gives the Habs a very reliable, steady, two-way pairing at the bottom of their lineup. If Chiarot and Kulak can continue to play as well as they did when Mete was injured, the Habs suddenly have a good looking defence.
This will also push Mike Reilly out of the lineup which is a huge addition by subtraction for the Habs. I know Milan Lucic has the worst contract in hockey, but Reilly’s two-year extension at $1.5 million per season might be the most puzzling contract. He couldn’t get in the lineup for half of last season but was quickly extended when the year ended. He struggled to play even third pairing minutes in Mete’s absence.
Though Mete may have lost his spot on the top pairing, it might be for the best for the Canadiens. Having a player as fast and smart as Mete on the third pairing gives the Habs terrific depth on the blue line – as long as Chiarot and Kulak continue to play well.