I confess, I had to skip practice on Sunday. So many roads were shut around town for the Beneva Marathon that getting to Brossard and back would have been quite challenging. Still, watching from afar, there are a few interesting things to report.

First and foremost, practice Groups have been revamped. Group C now features players who are not going to make the Montreal Canadiens this season. It may sound harsh, but that’s the most accurate way to describe it.

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Group A now includes the second line formed by Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, and Ivan Demidov, and line four with Josh Anderson, Jake Evans, and Brendan Gallagher. On the blue line, it includes Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson, the first pairing, and in net, Samuel Montembeault and Jacob Fowler.

Group B now has the top line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky, as well as line three, which features Alex Newhook and Zack Bolduc (but the group no longer includes Oliver Kapanen, who’s in Group A). On defense, it contains two of the regular pairings: Kaiden Guhle and Laine Hutson, and Arber Xhekaj and Alex Carrier (Struble is in the other group, which seems to indicate that, for now at least, Xhekaj has got the sixth defenseman role). At the back, Jakub Dobes and Kaapo Kahkonen will backstop that team.

Group A worked on the man advantage with a top unit featuring Gallagher, Dach, Demidov, Laine, and Dobson. As for Owen Beck, Filip Mesar, Sean Farrell, Mike Matheson, and Adam Engstrom, they formed the second unit.

Group B then worked on zone entries and puck retrievals. While we’ve yet to be told who will play this evening’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Groups A and B will likely split the upcoming doubleheader. On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Flyers will be the visitors. Whichever game you attend, you’ll get your money’s worth with the groups on display.

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