Pack your bags, Noah!

BROSSARD - After Nicolas Deslauriers before him, there was another caged man taking part in full-contact practice at the Bell Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Defenseman Noah Juulsen, who was hit in the face by two pucks in the November 19 game against the Washington Capitals, was cleared for body contact by the team's medical staff in time for practice, and joined his teammates for the trip to Ottawa following the skate.
Although Claude Julien said that Thursday's game would be too early for Juulsen's return, he indicated that the defenseman would be evaluated on a day-to-day basis after that. Needless to say, the 21-year-old was raring to go and was only waiting for clearance from the doctors.

"I feel good, it's good to be back on the ice with the guys and get a full-contact practice in here," stated Juulsen.
"For sure, I feel ready to go," he added. "I got some good skates in with our medical and training staff."
With two pucks hitting the defenseman in roughly the same part of his face - resulting in a fractured cheekbone - Juulsen admitted he was lucky he didn't suffer any more serious injury, but didn't have a chance to buy a lottery ticket and cash in on his good fortune.
"I should've," cracked Juulsen, who has averaged 17:32 of ice time this season. "If I didn't have to go to the hospital, I probably would've.
"It was a freaky thing that happened. It's rare to get one puck in the head, but to get two within 10 minutes is something else. I'm lucky to not have surgery, and I'm feeling good right now."
The fortunes of Juulsen's team are also on the upswing. That game against Washington was the Canadiens' first loss in what would become a five-game losing string, but they have won two of their last three tilts and they can give themselves all the credit for doing a better job of starting out strong for their improved outcomes.
"I think we gave ourselves the lead in the first period, we sustained it, we kept our foot on the gas," described Andrew Shaw of the Habs' crucial 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. "We sustained pucks, we were quick through the neutral zone, we weren't a one-and-done team. We were retrieving pucks and keeping it in the offensive zone. I think that's why we were successful."
Defenseman Brett Kulak liked the way his squad controlled the play against their divisional rivals up the 417.

"Yesterday as a team, we we just managed the puck and we had it a lot all night," he shared. "It's always better playing in the offensive zone; you waste less energy."
Kulak once again found himself on the No. 1 pairing with Shea Weber on Tuesday, though Weber eclipsed Kulak's 16:31 of ice time with a whopping 25:20 - the most of any skater on either side. The captain attributed his ability to play big minutes immediately upon returning from injury to his endeavours to stay in top shape while he was on the sidelines.
"That was the goal: put in all the work over the summer and the beginning of the season to hopefully come back and contribute the way I did in the past," recounted Weber. "The first game, we found out that I wasn't going to get eased into it and I felt fine, so it's all good.

The Habs will need Weber at his finest as they try to send the Sens further behind them in the standings with their second of three meetings in 12 days on Thursday. Julien noted that his troops should be ready for another tough battle between two teams hungry for points on the board.
"Some teams are very confident at home. In their case, even if we beat them yesterday, they're still playing some good hockey. They have a lot of young players who have the chance to continue developing, because that's their goal this year. These young players are working hard, and when you work hard you give yourself a chance to win. They've beaten a lot of good teams," he concluded. "For us, it's another important game just like yesterday's was.