Montreal Canadiens: Two More Players to Make NHL Debut Tonight

Montreal Canadiens lines have been thrown into a blender on many occasions in the past couple of years.

It seemed like Claude Julien would change something every period and Dominique Ducharme has used a different lineup almost every night this season so far.

Of course, some of that is not by choice as the team has dealt with an incredible number of injuries. The latest wave of Covid did not miss the Canadiens locker room and now, after a short break, the team has more regulars out of the lineup than every before.

The game tonight will see the Habs missing nine players who are on the Covid list. Artturi Lehkonen, Laurent Dauphin, Tyler Toffoli and Mike Hoffman were already out, but when the team returned to the Bell Centre on Boxing Day after a short Christmas break, five more players were added to the “not allowed to play” list. Four of them, Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmundson, Jeff Petry and Chris Wideman are regulars on defence and Jake Allen was also added to the list.

That leaves the team severely short on the blue line and in goal where Carey Price is injured as well.

So, we will see a couple more players make their NHL debuts tonight when the Canadiens face the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Corey Schueneman was a bit of a revelation for the Laval Rocket last season. He was added as sort of a depth option but turned out to be a smooth skating and reliable defender who played many games in the team’s top four on the blue line by season’s end. He has continued that role this season and has seven points in 19 games for the Rocket after putting up 12 points in 36 contests last season.

Rafael Harvey-Pinard will also make his NHL debut tonight. The Habs 7th round pick from the 2019 NHL Draft. The following season, Harvey-Pinard put up 34 goals and 78 points in 62 games for the Chcoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL. Last season, he scored nine goals and 20 points in 36 AHL games and this season he has 14 points in 24 games for the Rocket.

Harvey-Pinard is a scrappy winger who has earned the reputation of being Laval’s Brendan Gallagher over the past two seasons. He is fast and has a work ethic that never quits and also brings plenty of skill to the ice as well. The 22 year old was trending toward becoming an NHL player so even though this call up was made out of necessity, Harvey-Pinard has done everything right on his journey to the NHL.

While the Canadiens have dealt with some bad news as it pertains to the health of the team over the past few days, the Lightning have received great news. Brayden Point is back in the lineup tonight and Nikita Kucherov is inching toward a return though it’s unlikely he plays the evening.

With the Canadiens not so fortunate, they have to dig deeper into Laval’s roster to ice a team. It is a great opportunity for Schueneman and Harvey-Pinard to prove themselves at the NHL level.