And the list grows longer

BROSSARD - As the Habs stepped onto the ice for their final practice at home on Wednesday, news came down that Nikita Scherbak was the latest Hab to have suffered a concussion and wouldn't be skating with his teammates at the Bell Sports Complex.

Head coach Claude Julien confirmed that the the 22-year-old forward suffered the injury the night before against the Winnipeg Jets, joining a long list of Canadiens players who were hit by concussions this season - often missing significant amounts of time as a result.

For the Habs bench boss - who also announced that Paul Byron was good to go despite taking a therapy day - it was representative of how things have gone for the Montreal squad in 2017-18.
"This is the kind of year we've had. Unbelievable, the number of injuries and the types of injuries. Concussions are one of those issues we had more than we'd like," said Julien of a concussion list that includes Ales Hemsky, Al Montoya, Carey Price, Phillip Danault and now Scherbak. "I think the League would like to get rid of those totally. There's an effort being made there. We've had a fair number - too many for our liking. It's been a challenge because of that."

Defenseman Karl Alzner, who has suited up for every one of the Canadiens' 80 games thus far this season, posited that heightened awareness surrounding head injuries might partly explain why that list has grown so long.
"It's a little wild to have that many guys. It's hard to say. I think we know a little bit more about the symptoms, so we maybe can diagnose them a little bit better," outlined Alzner, who has 11 points (1G, 10A) this year. "Maybe that's why we see them more often. But it can happen from something super innocent and then [from] something a little bit more violent. It's hard to say how you completely eliminate them. It's something way above my brain level, for sure."
Whatever the reasons, concussions paint only one part of the Habs' injury picture this season. With the likes of Max Pacioretty, Shea Weber, Andrew Shaw, and Victor Mete also on the shelf with various ailments, Julien has had to alter his preparation plans to accommodate a slew of newcomers who have been arriving to fill in.
"This year is more about trying to teach a little bit more about what our expectations are, and it's been tougher because there have been so many players in and out," explained the Montreal skipper. "Even now, I'm doing things in the pregame [sessions] that probably three-quarters of the team know, but I still show it because there are three or four guys that weren't here and I want to make sure everybody understands it. You're still teaching, but you're teaching a lot of the same things because of the rotation of players coming in."
Alzner has gotten to work very closely with one such player, as Noah Juulsen has patrolled the blue line with him for much of the last 20-odd games. And the veteran defenseman offered up a glowing assessment of the Surrey, BC native's work since his call-up in late February.
"He's done exactly what he needs to do. He's coming in here, us already being in the situation we're in, knowing he has to go out there and not have that grace period to figure out, 'What can I do out there? What can't I do?' He just went out and played the game, played with confidence, he played aggressively," Alzner described of Juulsen, who has averaged 19:27 of ice time - including 2:18 shorthanded - in 21 games this season. "He's stepped in and filled some big mitts, which is hard to do as a defenseman."

For Julien, Juulsen's performance in the final quarter of the season is just one of many reasons he's optimistic about the near future - and of why he loves coming to work.
"I think we have some good young players who have a good future here. The more we teach them now, the less we have to teach them next year. The more experience they get now, the less we'll have to worry about that next year. There is a lot we accomplished. Even with this week coming up, we continue to spend time one-on-one with these players. We continue to do our work just as if we were heading into the playoffs. That's what we're paid to do, and that's what we want to do," he concluded. "That's where you see young players coming in and being excited, because we're excited to work with them."