Canadiens' Joel Edmundson picking up where he left off last season

Rugged defenseman had 24:23 of ice time Thursday in his third game back since an injury forced him to miss the first 57 games this season.

Author of the article:

Pat Hickey • Montreal Gazette

Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson received a cross-checking penalty after clearing Stars’ Tyler Seguin from in front of Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen Thursday night at the Bell Centre. Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal Gazette

It hasn’t taken long for Joel Edmundson to get back up to speed.

Edmundson, who missed the first 57 games of the season, was on the ice for 24:23 in Thursday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Dallas and the only Canadian with more ice time was his defense partner, Jeff Petry.

It was Edmundson’s third game back and his ice time has steadily increased since he played 16:38 last Saturday against Seattle.

“Sitting out that long, it definitely takes a few games to get the speed up, to get your legs underneath you, get your lungs back,” Edmundson said Friday after the Canadiens practiced in Brossard in preparation for Saturday’s home game against the Ottawa Senators (7 pm, City, SNE, TVA Sports, TSN-690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

“Last night was the most comfortable I’ve felt and I think the minutes showed that,” said Edmundson, who played a key role as the Montreal penalty killers went 4-for-4. “I want to keep building on that. We have 20 games left and I just want to have a good finish to the season. (I want to) annoy their top players and be that physical presence out there.”

Edmundson’s physical play allowed Petry to exploit his skills last season, but there’s some question whether they will be partners on a long-term offensive basis. Petry has three more seasons on his contract with him, but he struggled this season with Dominique Ducharme’s system and his family returned to their home outside Detroit because his wife was unhappy with the COVID restrictions in Quebec. He has asked for a trade and general manager Kent Hughes said he will oblige — if he gets the right deal.

Edmundson said there has been no sign that the turmoil is affecting Petry.

“He shows up to the rink every day, excited to be a Montreal Canadien,” Edmundson said. “He’s been playing good hockey the last couple of weeks. Hopefully, he sticks around. He’s a great guy who everybody likes.”

Over the past week, the Canadiens have welcomed Edmundson, forward Christian Dvorak and goaltender Jake Allen back from the injured reserve list, but there are still half-a-dozen players missing.

Jonathan Drouin (wrist) is progressing to the point where he is day-to-day as is Josh Anderson (lower body), who skated after Friday’s practice.

Goaltenders Andrew Hammond (lower body) and Carey Price (knee) and defenseman David Savard all skated before the practice. It was the first time Price has worked with goaltending coach Eric Raymond. The Canadiens said this was a sign of progress, but there’s still no indication when, or if, Price will make his long-awaited season debut.

Four forwards — Nick Suzuki, Paul Byron, Brendan Gallagher and Artturi Lehkonen — were not on the ice and the Canadiens said they were receiving medical treatment, but all are expected to be available for Saturday’s game. Lehkonen’s presence in the group was interesting because several teams have expressed interest in the hard-working winger who has displayed an offensive flair over the past two weeks.

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