Juraj Slafkovsky, David Savard and Josh Anderson, who missed the previous day’s full practice, were absent from the morning training session in preparation for the game against Boston.
– Simon-Olivier Lorange (@SO_Lorange) March 14, 2024
We were obviously keeping an eye on whether certain players would be present or absent, in order to get an idea of the state of health of several of the club’s key players.
That said, it’s worth noting that these guys will still be able to play tonight. Why? Because the changes will be elsewhere and they’re not injured enough to miss the game.
Offensively, Colin White will be back in action. He’ll be taking Michael Pezzetta’s place, which means Pezzetta will be joining Jesse Ylönen in the stands… and which means the Habs will (finally) be playing with four centers.
Colin White comes back in for the Canadiens tonight. Struble, Pezzetta and Ylönen are out. Sam Montembeault in net.
– Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) March 14, 2024
Defensively, we already knew that Samuel Montembeault would be back in net, but now he’ll be doing so behind a defensive brigade that will be different from the one on Tuesday.
Jordan Harris will be back in net, but rather than chasing Johnathan Kovacevic, he’ll be taking Jayden Struble’s place.
So he’s officially entering the rotation of those who can skip their turn. Doing so against Boston must hurt, but he must understand his coach’s message, I imagine.
Martin St-Louis is the first to say it: Jayden Struble has slowed down → https://t.co/bK3ui5OtyV
– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) March 14, 2024
Extension
I know there’s no longer a limit of 23 players on the active roster once the deadline passes, but White’s return means that for the first time all year, the Habs have 21 healthy skaters. Before, with three goalies, it was impossible.