Samuel Montembeault will play tomorrow, but not Alex Newhook

Here we go again.

At practice this morning, the Habs gave us some clues as to their lineup for tomorrow night’s game in Washington. And in fact, we can expect to see an 11-7 format.

Arber Xhekaj looked like a guy who could play, unlike Michael Pezzetta.

There are currently 13 forwards alternating, but the 1st combinations were:

Caufield-Suzuki-Slaf
Pearson-Evans-Ylonen
Condotta-Gignac-Anderson
RHP-Pezzetta (extra?)-Armia

So it could look like 11-7 tomorrow, but I’m NOT betting my house on it.

– Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) February 5, 2024

Obviously, all 12 healthy forwards were on the ice, but there was also Alex Newhook. We’re talking about a guy to keep an eye on, as his return to action is becoming increasingly imminent.

GM Kent Hughes confirmed this last Friday, on the sidelines of the Sean Monahan transaction. And since then, the former Avalanche has been training with the rest of his teammates.

That said, it should be noted that he won’t be able to play tomorrow night. That’s what Martin St-Louis confirmed.

He’ll be making the trip to Washington, no doubt to continue skating with the group, and we’ll see in due course whether the week of practice that awaits the Flanelle will allow him to play on Saturday.

Alex Newhook will not face the Capitals tomorrow.
There’s talk of him returning “soon”.

He’ll still be in Washington. @RDSca

– Patrick Friolet (@PFrioletRDS) February 5, 2024

That said, we do know that Samuel Montembeault will play.

It’s no great surprise, but the Quebecer, who won the Molson Cup for the month of January, will be the one lucky enough to play in the first game back from the break.

Samuel Montembeault will face the Capitals on Tuesday night@RDSca

– Patrick Friolet (@PFrioletRDS) February 5, 2024

I also expect him to get a chance to play in one of the two games this weekend. Whether it’s Saturday (Stars) or Sunday (Blues), the young fans attending the afternoon games would be disappointed not to see Montembeault at all.

It remains to be seen which game he’ll get, and who’ll get the other. But that’s for another time.

Breaking news

– News from Toronto.

David Kampf will not be available to play this week. Consider him day-to-day starting next week.

Joseph Woll “not anywhere close” to game action, per Keefe.

– luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) February 5, 2024

– Still.

Interesting graphic on the lineups of the 18 @QMJHL teams. Undrafted players come in 3rd after players drafted in rounds 1 and 2! Several Ontarians in this group of 43 players, but still. The draft is an inexact science. https://t.co/9vTosKy61T

– jf plante (@jfplante_sports) February 5, 2024

– He needs to stand up.

Rangers hope Kaapo Kakko was sparked by pre-break scoring flurry https://t.co/xgTWnfAlid pic.twitter.com/0GTEuRu45i

– New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) February 5, 2024

– A nice addition to Vancouver.

With Lindholm on board, this Canucks team suddenly has a collection of centers as good as any in franchise history. On top of that, there aren’t many NHL teams stronger down the middle right now.

“My interpretation: we’re going for it.”(@imacSportsnet) https://t.co/L3O9veOMq1

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 5, 2024