Game Day Notebook: Carey Price Comes Over To Meet With Canadiens

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There was good news for the Canadiens on Tuesday morning when head coach Dominique Ducharme announced that goalie Carey Price is expected to rejoin the team after completing 30 days in the NHL / NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Friday. .

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“We don’t have confirmation yet, but we look forward to it in town soon,” Ducharme said. “We don’t have the exact date yet.”

Thirty days is the minimum amount of time someone can spend in the player assistance program.

Price has yet to play a game this season and the Canadiens are off to a 2-8-0 start, their worst since 1941-42 when they were 1-8-1. Price was still recovering from offseason knee surgery when he entered the player assistance program on October 7 and did not participate in training camp.

The Canadiens also announced Tuesday morning that they called forward Alex Belzile of the AHL Laval Rocket before Tuesday night’s game at the Bell Center against the Detroit Red Wings. (7 pm, TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM). The Canadiens will not have forwards Cédric Paquette and Mathieu Perreault for the game. Paquette was suspended for two games Monday by the NHL for his blow to Trevor Zegras during Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Ducks in Anaheim, while Perreault will be out for 2-3 weeks with an eye injury.

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Ducharme said Tuesday morning that forward Brendan Gallagher and defender Jeff Petry will be game-time decisions as they deal with injuries.

In six games for the Rocket this season, Belzile is 1-3-4. On Monday, the Canadiens sent Cole Caufield to the Rocket and called up Michael Pezzetta.

The Red Wings are 4-3-2. The Canadiens beat the Red Wings 6-1 in their first meeting this season on October 23 at the Bell Center.

The Canadiens held an optional morning skating on Tuesday at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard. After the skate, Ducharme confirmed that Pezzetta and Belzile will be in the lineup against the Red Wings. It will be Pezzetta’s first NHL game and Belzile’s third.

“We liked his training camp and his game at Laval this season,” said the coach. “We want to see what they can contribute to our team. They are two different players, but they have character. They work hard and make things difficult for their opponents. We’ll see how they respond tonight. “

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Allen wins the Molson Cup

Canadiens goalkeeper Jake Allen was announced Tuesday as the Molson Cup winner for the month of October based on three-star selections.

Allen was named the first star once and the third star once while posting a 2-6-0 record last month, along with an average of 2.91 goals against and a .907 save percentage. Allen recorded his first shutout with the Canadiens on October 28, making 45 saves in a 4-0 win over the Sharks in San Jose to earn the first star. He was named the third star after the Canadiens lost their season opener 2-1 to the Maple Leafs in Toronto on October 13. Allen made 28 saves in that game.

Allen will receive the Molson Cup before the start of Tuesday’s game.

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Struggling to score

Nick Suzuki, Joel Armia, Artturi Lehkonen and Caufield are the only four Canadiens forwards who played in the first 10 games of this season without scoring a goal, while Paquette is goalless in the eight games he played.

The Canadiens signed Suzuki to an eight-year, $ 63 million contract extension before the start of the season that begins next year. Armia signed a new four-year, $ 13.6 million deal during the offseason, while Lehkonen signed a one-year, $ 2.3 million deal.

After Sunday’s loss to the Ducks, Suzuki said “it was probably one of my worst games.”

Suzuki made two shots on goal in 18:44 of ice time against the Ducks and went 4-12 in the cautionary circle (25 percent). For the season, Suzuki has won just 40.6 percent of their matchups.

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“There is one thing that he is capable of evaluating himself,” Ducharme said of Suzuki. “The boys are aware. They know and want to do better collectively and individually. Nick is a character guy and wants to help the team and sometimes he puts that pressure on yourself. It’s about controlling the little things that can make you successful.

“I talked about it often with Nick and I mentioned it to you too, when his level of competition is very high and he is moving his feet, he is dynamic, good things happen,” added the coach. “When you try to overthink and try to be too smart the game, sometimes it becomes less dynamic that way. So for him it is a great key. Sometimes when you want to get it right, sometimes you forget those things and start overthinking. You can’t fall into that hole. “

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Whats Next?

Tuesday’s game is the first of five in a row for the Canadiens at the Bell Center.

“It’s always nice to be home and play at home in front of our fans,” defender Brett Kulak said. “It helps a lot. If the legs aren’t there, they give you an extra boost. It gives you one more step and more excitement. We know where we are, but we feel confident as a group. We have the necessary equipment to win many games and we are doing well. So we’re looking forward to doing it here at home again. “

The New York Islanders will be at the Bell Center on Thursday (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM), followed by the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday (7 p.m., SNE, CITY, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

Next week, the Los Angeles Kings will be at the Bell Center on Tuesday (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM), followed by the Calgary Flames on Thursday (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

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