The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Thursday night at the Bell Centre, and on Tuesday morning, Martin St-Louis put his men through their paces. Here's what we saw and heard in Brossard.
The Montreal Canadiens’ practice was scheduled for 10:30 at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard on Thursday, but by 9:45, Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield were already on the ice working on their shots with Adam Nicholas. 15 minutes later, there were a dozen players taking shots at one end of the ice while bronze medalist Oliver Kapanen was helping Marco Marciano warm up the goalies. The Finnish rookie had an extra spring in his step after climbing onto the podium in Milan, and when he spoke to the media after practice, he met them with a huge grin on his face.
Asked if he was surprised to go from 13th forward to playing on the first line for Team Finland, he explained:
Kind of yeah, I mean, I got to know on the same day that I was playing, but it didn’t bother me, I just played my game, and I thought I played really well.
Nobody will argue with the youngster there, speaking about his performance, coach Martin St-Louis said:
I mean, I felt like the last game he played, he was really noticeable and really good. They probably wish they'd played him more after watching that, you know. As players, you just stay ready. I’m sure that’s what he was told: “Stay ready,” and Kapi was. But there’s so much that you can absorb from just being there and watching, so it depends on how you see it, glass half full, glass half empty.
Back on the ice, the coaches put the players through their paces for a solid 50 minutes with various drills heavily oriented on defence. Asked what his training plan was for the break and the week, St-Louis explained:
First and foremost, it’s to build up physically throughout the week so you can hit the ground running and have good energy. We’ve been calculating and using the science behind it and stuff, and trying to manage the workload for the guys, that’s one. Two is obviously our collective game. I think we’ve spent a little more time working on defensive stuff, not that there weren’t some offensive opportunities while you work on defensive stuff, but I think we focused on the defensive side of the puck.
St-Louis also confirmed that Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky were given the day off to rest today, which is yet another example of load management after they both had an intense tournament.
The coach appreciated the break as he was able to really dive into what needed to be tightened up ahead of the return to play, he added that he did the same last year, as the time off allows you to pick more than one topic to talk about and work on, which he cannot really do when the games are coming fast and furious.
After practice, both goaltenders spoke to the media and had nothing but positive things to say about their new goaltending coach, Marciano. Jakub Dobes, who worked with him a year and a half ago in Laval, said it felt like they picked up where they left off, as if he were just going over the basics, almost as if he were revisiting what they had done in Laval. Meanwhile, Samuel Montembeault said he was happy to work with the goalie coach who drafted him in the QMJHL and with whom he’s worked for so many offseasons. Both praised Marciano's easygoing, energetic nature.
While St-Louis didn’t confirm who would be in the net on Thursday, he did say that he expects both goaltenders to get a game this week. Clearly, he intends to take a day-to-day approach with his goalies, and neither of them has the inside track.
Asked if Alex Newhook and Patrik Laine could return, the coach replied he didn’t know, but just watching proceedings on ice, it appears highly unlikely that there will be a spot in the lineup for the big Finn. While Newhook practiced on a line with Kapanen and Ivan Demidov, Laine was used as a defenseman during certain drills, and that’s without Slafkovsky and Suzuki being present. It’s honestly hard not to feel for the sniper who’s out there just doing what’s asked of him, but chances are, he’s not very pleased with the way things are going.
The Canadiens will be back on the ice in Brossard on Wednesday morning, and the coach expects a full group, with Suzuki and Slafkovsky joining.
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