Canadiens training camp officially came to a close on Wednesday, as the Habs practiced one final time at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard before flying to Buffalo for Thursday's regular season opener.
Prior to the start of practice it was announced that Carey Price -- still sidelined with the flu -- would not travel with the team to western New York. "Unfortunately, he caught the flu and everyone reacts differently to medicine. He caught a nasty bug, as we're seeing now. He's day-to-day. There's a chance he'll join the team in Ottawa on Friday, but he'll have to be healthy," clarified Michel Therrien during his post-practice press conference. "It's too bad, but there's nothing we can do about it." "That's hockey -- there will be setbacks," continued the Canadiens head coach. "We all would have liked for Carey to be between the pipes for the first game. Not only us, but our fans too. It's just going to be a matter of time now."
Al Montoya will thus make his Habs debut slightly sooner than originally expected. "The start was going to come sooner or later, but it's here now and I'm excited. I'm ready for it -- this is what I've been preparing for," underlined the 31-year-old netminder, who learned the news at practice. "I'm looking forward to stepping onto the ice with this group." Montoya holds a 3-0-2 career record against the Sabres, earning points in all five outings to date.
