Back to business

BROSSARD - After seven full days without games or practices, the Habs got back to work at the Bell Sports Complex after their All-Star and bye week break came to a close.

And given they had spent so much time away from each other, there's no doubt that the players enjoyed being back in each other's company after such an unusually long midseason vacation.
"The guys were happy to see each other," described centerman Phillip Danault. "The energy is good."
Happy to reunite with friends, maybe. But that doesn't mean that getting a full skate in was easy.
"Awful," cracked Carey Price when asked how the practice was. "I felt every day off today. We have a couple of practices to get our feet under us again."
All jokes aside, the Habs netminder was appreciative of the opportunity to rest and recover, and was already looking ahead to the pair of weekend games his team would be playing, their first since a 2-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes last Wednesday.

"We have a big weekend, with these two first games. We just have to worry about that. It's easy to look ahead like that," said Price, who's posted 20-13-4 record, 2.56 goals-against average, .915 save percentage, and three shutouts this season. "But I've said it a thousand times here, we just have to take care of Saturday first."
Intensity at practice was high on Thursday, and Danault affirmed that the Canadiens will have to take it up a notch the following day so they're ready for their upcoming games against the New Jersey Devils (Saturday) and Edmonton Oilers (Sunday).
"Everyone has a lot of energy, and that's exactly the right time to get some wins at home and put together some good 60-minute efforts," outlined Danault, whose 33 points in 2018-19 (8G, 25A) are just seven shy of his career high. "Tomorrow's practice is important for us to prepare for the games this weekend."

After playing Philadelphia and Arizona at home before the break, the Habs will be playing out another five games at the Bell Centre and for head coach Claude Julien, it's a chance to improve on a home record which, at 14-10-2, he feels can use some improvement.
"We have five in a row at home. It's an opportunity for us to bring our home record to a more acceptable winning rate, to what we expect," said the coach. "Although we're not a bad home team, we want to be better."
The team's leading goal scorer, Brendan Gallagher, knows that every game from hereon in is of monumental importance given how tight the standings, but he feels like his team has what it takes to take on whatever challenge comes their way.
"Certainly, when you're going up against these top teams, you have to be ready to play and compete. We have a group in here that we feel like, when we come to play, we can compete with the best. We're eager to prove that. It's a fun opportunity for us," he concluded. "These next 31 games are going to be an exciting challenge for our group going forward, and hopefully something we can embrace."

Notes
Andrew Shaw was back on the ice at practice with his teammates, but Julien said that he won't be playing this weekend and that there's still no timeline for his return.

The Canadiens practice at 11:00 a.m. on Friday at the Bell Sports Complex. They face the New Jersey Devils on Saturday and the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, both games at 2:00 p.m. at the Bell Centre. For tickets,
click here
.