The Montreal Canadiens held a short practice in Brossard on Thursday night, and the mood was good around the team.
After losing Game 2 in Tampa, the Montreal Canadiens were back on the ice on Thursday morning for a short practice. Mike Matheson and Josh Anderson were the only two players missing on the ice. Given how much they are playing in this series, it very well might have been to give them a bit of rest. Matheson spent almost 29 minutes on the ice on Tuesday as Arber Xhekaj was glued to the bench for the overtime period, and Anderson has been dishing out hits like there’s no tomorrow; he’s bound to be nursing some bruises.
The group looked in a good mood, with Phillip Danault and Jake Evans swapping sticks for fun and the work focusing on zone entries, one-on-one, two-on-one, three-on-two, without really revealing what the lines could be like on Friday night, which is hardly surprising in the playoffs.
After the short skate, Martin St-Louis spoke to reporters and was asked if he had a message for fans who took their disappointment too far by targeting Kirby Dach on social media. The coach thought long and hard before answering that the Canadiens are tied in a hard matchup right now and that they need all hands on deck, fans included, before adding that the Habs are not perfect. While some fans did take things too far, plenty of others have been taking to social media to preach respect; it just goes to show how passionate this market is.
With just over 24 hours to go before Game 3, the mystery remains: Will Dach keep his place in the lineup? Will Brendan Gallagher get to enter this series? Will Joe Veleno? Will St-Louis use his defensemen more evenly on Friday night? In Noah Dobson’s absence, Matheson and Lane Hutson have been overused, and you don’t want to use them so much that their efficiency diminishes. One thing’s for sure, however, when the puck drops on Game 3 on Friday night, the Bell Centre will be electric.
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