P.O. Joseph isn't the only Pittsburgh Penguins defender making a return to Montreal.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are hitting the road for the first time in the 2022-23 season, traveling to north of the boarder to take on the Montreal Canadiens.
While the team will look to carry their strong play on the road into a new season, multiple Penguins are having a bit of a homecoming.
Defenseman P.O. Joseph is set to play an NHL game in Montreal for the first time in his career and there is already a lot of emotion riding for him in the game.
Joseph isn’t the only one making a return to Montreal, however, as fellow blue liner Jeff Petry will play against his former team for the first time since being traded to Pittsburgh.
Petry played 508 games with the Canadiens accumulating 248 points and being a solid second defensive threat behind Shea Weber.
The Canadiens haven’t had the greatest of teams in the past few years, but had themselves multiple impressive postseason’s in recent memory.
Penguins fans will remember the bubble playoffs of 2020 where the Canadiens defeated the Penguins in four games of the qualifying round.
Petry, of all people, became a nightmare for the Penguins; he scored the Game 1 overtime winner and potted the game winning goal in Game 3.
The following season the Canadiens went on one of the most unlikely playoff runs the sport has ever seen.
A team that wouldn’t have made the playoffs if the formatting was normal making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
Petry was a big part of that run averaging just over 24 minutes of ice per night and putting up six assists.
Now with the Penguins, this will not be Petry’s first ever game against Montreal; previously as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, Petry played six games against the Habs.
The Penguins hope to make it a positive homecoming for Petry, Joseph, and Ryan Poehling who was a part of the Petry trade.
Poehling played in 85 games with the Habs and scored 22 points.
There is a lot of emotion heading into the first road game of the year for the Penguins, but they are also carrying a lot of momentum after putting up 12 goals through the first two games.
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