While Canadians were glued to their TVs watching Team Canada take on Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Montreal Canadiens were at the Casino to raise funds for the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation. Every player was in attendance except Samuel Montembeault, who was still in Boston with Canada.
Those who wished to gamble with the players had three options to attend the event, buy a general admission ticket $1,000, VIP access for $1,750 or $6,000 for a private lounge and four general admission tickets.
This was the event's second edition hosted by captain Nick Suzuki and his fiancée Caitlin Fitzgerald. Of course, there was a TV, allowing the guest to check in on the big game. Josh Anderson was spotted looking almost mesmerized.
Joel Armia and Patrik Laine, freshly back from their 4 Nations Face-Off participation with Finland were all smiles for the event. The Habs had a day off for the event, no-one stepped on the ice, but they'll be back to work this morning at 11:00 AM at the Bell Centre. This will be the team's first practice with all of its skaters and it will be interesting to see what Martin St-Louis' lineup will look like.
Before the break, the team had lost eight of its last 10 games and Laine and Juraj Slafkovsky ended up playing some shifts with the third and fourth line. While the Finn didn't exactly lit it up in the international tournament, he ended up with three assists and a plus-one rating in three games. Just like when he plays with the Canadiens though, he also had more than his fair share of giveaways which pushed his coach Antti Pennanen to demote him to the third line, away from Sebastian Aho and Roope Hintz.
It's likely the event won't have been the bounce back experience most hoped it would be. Still, St-Louis has been known to give a lot of chances to his players and it wouldn't be shocking to see the big Finn moved to the top line and Slafkovsky join the Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook duo.
The Canadiens will be taking on the Ottawa Senators tomorrow night in Ottawa. Chances are captain Brady Tkachuk will be playing with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after losing the final 3-2 in overtime on Thursday night.
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.