Juraj Slafkovský, Josh Anderson, and Kaiden Guhle were among the few players absent from practice

Félix Forget
Juraj Slafkovský, Josh Anderson, and Kaiden Guhle were among the few players absent from practice
Credit: Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images

Tonight, the Canadiens will play Game 4 of their series against the Lightning. The team will be at home tonight before heading back to Tampa for the next game.

Obviously, one might think the Montreal team would prefer to make that trip with a 3-1 series lead rather than a 2-2 tie. Tonight's game will be crucial, as we all know.

And this morning, the team held an optional practice in preparation for tonight's game. For the occasion, just about everyone was there… except for a few absentees.

Notably, Juraj Slafkovský, Josh Anderson, and Kaiden Guhle did not practice with the rest of the group. They were the three skaters who were absent.

It's a safe bet that all three guys will play tonight, but it's still something to keep an eye on.

We know that these three guys, in fact, play a pretty physical style. So it's reasonable to think that, on the sidelines of another matchup in a series that's already pretty intense physically, the three guys thought it best to take a morning skate off.

The important thing, after all, is that they're ready for tonight.

We also note that there was another absentee… but this one makes more sense: Jakub Dobes, who is expected to be the starting goaltender tonight, also took the morning off.

It's not uncommon for the starting goalie to have a shorter morning session or simply take the morning off: his case is far less “worrying” than that of the other three.

Remember that no changes are expected to the Habs' lineup following Friday night's victory. Despite the absences at practice, all four players should be in their spots tonight.

Let's hope so, at least.


In a nutshell

– Photos from practice.

– The Lightning also had a few players absent this morning. Once again, we expect them all to be in their spots tonight.

– Charle-Édouard D'Astous will not play tonight. He is nearing a return, however.

– It's chaos in Boston.

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