Shaw debuts up front against Washington, Niemi starts in goal

ARLINGTON, VA - The Canadiens will feature two players in their lineup on Friday night who haven't seen game action in quite a while.

Up front, Logan Shaw will make his Habs debut. The 25-year-old forward, whom the Habs claimed off waivers on Monday from the Anaheim Ducks, hasn't played in two weeks, having last suited up on January 6.
Needless to say, the Glace Bay, NS native has been chomping at the bit for the opportunity to show head coach Claude Julien what he brings to the table.
"Honestly, I'm excited. It's been a while since I've played, but I feel good," said Shaw, who was featured on right wing on a line with Byron Froese and Jacob de la Rose during Friday's morning skate. "I'm really looking forward to it."

While it was just Shaw's first on-ice session with the rest of his teammates, he's already feeling relatively comfortable with the style of game the Canadiens try to play.
"The systems are a little bit different, but when you watch the other night, it's easy to see that there's not much difference," mentioned Shaw, who had two goals and eight points in 42 games with Anaheim this year. "Almost every team in the league plays a very similar style anyway. There's just little tweaks that every team makes, but I feel confident with the systems."
If the Canadiens find themselves in penalty trouble against the Capitals, Shaw is hoping to put his skills to work on special teams. It's a part of his game that he takes extra pride in.
"That's how I earned my ice in Anaheim. That's where I got the majority of my minutes," said Shaw. "But, I'm just here to do whatever I can to help the team."
Julien certainly isn't ruling out giving Shaw a chance to strut his stuff if the Canadiens find themselves down a man.
"He's very capable of killing penalties, and so are a lot of players in our lineup. If he's comfortable enough, chances are good that he'll get a shot," said Julien. "We're just going to make sure that he's comfortable with our way of playing short-handed."

While Shaw has been patiently waiting for his turn to play, the same can be said for Antti Niemi, who will be making his first start since December 23 in Edmonton.
Julien believes that the 34-year-old goaltender can deliver the goods as Carey Price enjoys a rare night off.
"He's given everything he's got, competed and battled in every game he played with us. The fact that he never gives up gives the team energy," praised Julien, on Niemi's body of work so far with the Canadiens. "That's why teams have two goalies. Sometimes, the second goalie has to jump out there and win games. We're confident that Nemo can do that for us."
Niemi is going to need help from those playing in front of him, of course. Jeff Petry stressed the importance of offering up a total team effort from start to finish against the Capitals.
"Either goalie that's playing, we can't rely on them. We have to push the pace, set the pace and play to win the game - not just sit back and hope our goalie's making saves to keep us in the game and steals one for us," said Petry. "We need to go out and earn every point that we're fighting for."