Montreal Canadiens send goaltender Carey Price to AHL Hamilton

MONTREAL - The Montreal Canadiens have sent goaltender Carey Price and forward Kyle Chipchura to their AHL affiliate in Hamilton.

Both players had been with the NHL team all season. Forward Corey Locke and goaltender Jaroslav Halak were recalled Tuesday to fill the roster spots.

Price appeared in 19 games for Montreal and had a 2.90 goals-against average, .907 save percentage and a record of 9-7-0. Chipchura had 11 points (4-7) in 36 games.

Locke leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 28 points (12-16) in 34 games while Halak is 9-7-2 for Hamilton with a 2.26 GAA and .922 save percentage. He's also appeared once for the Habs in relief this season.

Meanwhile, veteran defenceman Patrice Brisebois was expected to return to the Canadiens lineup on Tuesday night after missing 11 games with a shoulder injury.

Mark Streit was to play forward against the Chicago Blackhawks to make room for Brisebois on defence.

"I practised so hard the last two weeks in the gym and on the ice, so it's fun to be back," said Brisebois, who has one goal and six assists in 26 games this season. "I'll just try to make the easy plays, take short shifts and try to be in the right position."

Streit prefers to play defence, but coach Guy Carbonneau has moved the versatile Swiss player back and forth often during the last two seasons.

Carbonneau likes Streit up front so he can move him back if a defenceman gets injured.

"He's really good at both positions," said Carbonneau.