Hockey

Here are the trios in practice following Alex Newhook’s injury
Mathis Therrien
Here are the trios in practice following Alex Newhook’s injury
Credit: Twitter screenshot

The Canadiens de Montréal held a practice this morning at the Bell Centre in preparation for tonight's game against the Boston Bruins at 7pm.

It was the first full practice since Thursday's heavy 7-0 loss to the Dallas Stars, and since Alex Newhook's unfortunate injury.

We were therefore keeping a close eye on what the forward trios would look like in Newhook's absence.

Well, here's what the Canadiens' four trios now look like, with the addition of Jared Davidson, freshly recalled from the Laval Rocket.

The first thing you notice when you look at these trios is that Kirby Dach was chosen as Alex Newhook's replacement, not Zachary Bolduc.

Martin St-Louis preferred to promote Dach to the center of the second line with Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen, rather than give Bolduc a chance on the wing in the top-6.

St-Louis clearly went partly on merit, given that Dach has been having a good time recently, while Bolduc is going through a very difficult time.

Jared Davidson will make his NHL debut in the company of Joe Veleno and Brendan Gallagher. Veleno will play center for the first time this season.

Veleno will be separated from Jake Evans and Josh Anderson for the first time in five games, as Bolduc will now play with the two veterans.

In a way, then, Bolduc has been demoted, despite Newhook's injury.

That really speaks volumes, so the message is very clear for the Québécois that he needs to show a lot more to earn a promotion.

On defense, nothing has changed in the pairings, and in front of the net, it's Samuel Montembeault who will protect the Habs' cage.

In short, I can't wait to see how the Habs react after two tough losses, and I can't wait to see Jared Davidson play his first NHL game either.

He's an intriguing player who's undergone excellent development, and could surprise us as early as tonight.


Overtime

– A simply horrible gesture.

– Happy birthday to Justin Barron.

– Don't miss. Félix defeated Zverev to advance to the semi-finals.

– Wow. Very original deke.

– Zuccarello isn't getting any younger.

– Read more.

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