On Sunday morning, the Montreal Canadiens held a morning skate in Brossard, Quebec. They did so on a simulated game day with an intra-squad scrimmage at 7:00pmET. It’s their second and final red and white match before they kick off their season on Wednesday in Toronto.
As well, the team announced on Sunday the following players have been placed on waivers:
B. Baddock
A. Belzile
J. Blandisi
L. Dauphin
J. Weal
N. Juulsen
G. Olofsson
X. Ouellet
C. Lindgren
If none of these players are claimed by noon on Monday, they will most likely be assigned to the team’s affiliate, the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Laval, in accordance with public health, will play out their season at the Bell Centre as well.
After the morning skate, the Montreal media met with Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron, Jake Evans and head coach Claude Julien. Drouin was first to the podium, meeting with the media for the first time this season.
Asked if he felt playing in the bubble really helped with his game and his confidence moving forward, the native of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts said, “We were happy how we played in the bubble, thought we had a chance to beat Philly. We played well in that series, I definitely brought that into my offseason, where I was excited to come back here hopefully waiting for the rink to open. When it opened, we were all here and excited.”
He also spoke about the positive locker room vibe, where it seems all the players are having a lot of fun around one another. “Everyone’s positive. We’re all doing the same thing, trying to get ready for the season with a team that’s so deep. It’s exciting to come on the ice and practice, everyone is challenging you, we’re all battling against each other, it’s been a good camp and we’re very excited for the season to start.”
Next to face the media was forward Paul Byron from Ottawa, Ontario. He opened sharing his thoughts on Jake Evans, who he shares a spot with on Montreal’s fourth line. “His skating, hockey sense, I think he fits really well with me and Artturi {Lehkonen}. We’re like a north south line. We have a lot of pace, aggressiveness, we can forecheck hard, we can backtrack and cause turnovers, so it’s fun playing with him. He’s strong, good on face-offs and I think he compliments me and Art very well.”
He was also asked about the simulated game-day given that there are no preseason exhibition matchups this season. “It’s not really a concern. We only had one pre-season or exhibition game before the playoffs and I thought our team did pretty well against Pittsburgh to start. We have had a lot of intensity in our practices, the last scrimmage in the morning had a pretty good intensity and pace to it. It’s our team identity, something we strive to be good at everyday, so I’m not too worried about our team. Everyone is pretty focused and pretty sharp out there, so it’s nice to have that routine get back into the fold of things, and once game day hits, everyone is in the zone and we’ll be ready to go for the puck drop for game one.”
Jake Evans was next to meet with them, providing his thoughts on how training camp is going for him at this point. “For me, it’s just about gaining confidence. When you get to go against some of the top players and keep up with them and feel good about yourself, I think that’s great and a great experience for me.”
Evans also spoke about the extra responsibilities that Julien has assigned to him. “It goes to my last point, gaining confidence playing against those guys, I love those situations, and I think for me, it’s about embracing those roles, not being scared to make mistakes. My confidence is slowly growing and embracing those responsibilities and opportunities, not getting too down on myself if something goes bad and keep pushing through.”
To close out the morning media session, Claude Julien made his way to the podium, discussing the transition from practices to season mode. Specifically, Julien was asked when that focus starts shifting to game one in Toronto on Wednesday night. “Well, pretty soon. I think after tonight’s scrimmage, we’re going to have to make some decisions here on our group, and at the same time, we’re going to have to start preparing for Wednesday’s game, so I did watch the game last night, and thankfully it gives us an opportunity to pre-scout what’s up and coming here, get an idea of what the team looks like and there’s no doubt changes are on the way. It was good to see the game last night and get the idea what our opponent is going to look like.”
The final Red and White scrimmage match will be played on Sunday night in Brossard. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pmET and the game can be seen on RDS while the Montreal Canadiens will be streaming it online.
Here are the starting lineups for Sunday’s scrimmage in Brossard, Quebec:
Team Red
Tatar – Danault – Gallagher
Drouin – Suzuki – Anderson
Toffoli – Kotkaniemi – Armia
Byron – Evans – Lehkonen
Chiarot – Weber
Edmundson – Petry
Kulak – Romanov
Price
Lindgren
Team White
Frolik – Poehling – Perry
Dauphin – Vejdemo – Weal
Teasdale – Lynch – Belzile
Lucchini – Blandisi – Baddock
Ouellet – Mete
Olofsson – Juulsen
Leskinen – Fleury
Allen
Primeau
There were some changes made to Sunday’s lineups with the Canadiens fourth line moving to Team Red, meaning the main roster, with the Perry-Frolik-Poehling line will make the transition to Team White. In goal, Jake Allen will be traded to Team White, meanwhile, Carey Price will make the move to Team Red.