A Winning Habit
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Top storylines to come out of Montreal Canadiens training camp

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 05: Goaltender Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens makes a pad save near teammate Shea Weber #6 and Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins during the second period at the Bell Centre on November 5, 2019 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 05: Goaltender Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens makes a pad save near teammate Shea Weber #6 and Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins during the second period at the Bell Centre on November 5, 2019 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 07: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Taking a look at what took place at training camp for the Montreal Canadiens and how it will transition into their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

All teams, including the Montreal Canadiens, are at their respective NHL hub cities gearing up for their exhibition game. However, a lot has gone on between now and the start of training camp that is likely going to factor into how the rest of this goes for the Habs.

For example:

1) KK to the second power squared

Jesperi Kotkaniemi got the full wrath of the sophomore slump. But it wasn’t as if he himself was performing poorly. A pair of injuries definitely got in the way of his flow and greatly impacted his confidence so much so that the Habs felt it better for the 20-year-old to play games in the AHL with the Laval Rocket. Once down there, Kotkaniemi proved he could dominate on a team, and unfortunately, his season was shut down.

Even so, Kotkaniemi went to Finland, trained, and came back better. Claude Julien has made a note of his improvement, and during team scrimmages, the 2018 third overall pick looked more powerful in his movements.

On the third line, he could get an opportunity to take a stand at 5v5 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. They are going to have some veteran competition if they’re tasked with taking on the Jared McCann, Patrick Marleau, Patric Hornqvist line, but the possibility is strong here.

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