MTL@MIN: Juulsen may play, Niemi gets the start

SAINT PAUL - Following Tuesday's morning skate at the Xcel Energy Center, head coach Claude Julien confirmed that defenseman Noah Juulsen is ready to return to the lineup.

That doesn't mean that the 21-year-old blueliner, who has missed the last nine games with a facial fracture, will be in action against the Minnesota Wild, though.
The veteran bench boss indicated that a decision concerning any changes on the back end will likely be made over the course of the afternoon. There will be no changes up front, however.
Admittedly, Juulsen is eager to get back to work after making his last appearance on November 19 against the Washington Capitals at the Bell Centre.
"I'm excited to play again," affirmed Juulsen, who was paired with Jordie Benn during the on-ice session. "The team's winning right now, so I want to come back in and play the game I was playing and have the success we were having before as well."
Juulsen indicated that sporting a cage is no longer bothersome. His primary concern is finding his rhythm again when he finally does get the call.
"Legs aren't bad. I've been on the ice pretty much every day since the injury. I took a couple of days off, and then got back on the ice," explained Juulsen, who has one goal and five points in 17 games so far this season, along with a plus-3 differential. "I think just getting back in the game, the game feeling [will be the main thing]. It's been a while for me. I think it's coming up on three weeks here, so it's a long time not to play. It'll be about keeping things simple tonight."

Switching things up in goal
After going with Carey Price in between the pipes for seven straight contests, Julien is turning to Antti Niemi to battle the Wild on Tuesday night.
It will mark his first start since November 23 in Buffalo.
In 18 career appearances against Minnesota, Niemi boasts an impressive 11-4-2 record, 2.11 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.
"It helps," responded Julien, when asked if the Finnish netminder's past success versus Bruce Boudreau's contingent played a part in his choice to feature Niemi in the Twin Cities.

It's also a chance to give Price some well-deserved rest, according to Julien.
"I think we've seen that Carey has been playing a lot of games lately. It gives him a little break. We're going to need him leading up to Christmas, because we have a fairly busy schedule," mentioned Julien. "At some point, you have to give him some rest. We have a goalie that has a good record against them. It's a chance to finish the trip on a positive note with a perfect record. We're trying to give ourselves every advantage possible."

Closing strong
The Canadiens are going in search of their fourth straight win on Tuesday night, while the Wild are looking to rebound from back-to-back losses to finish off their Western Canada road trip.
There's nothing the Habs would like more than to return home with their winning streak intact, but it's going to take a total team effort against a squad that is solid in their own barn, with an 8-4-2 record on the year.
"We want to play hard for 60 minutes. We had some trouble in the first period last game, but we got things going later on," said Phillip Danault. "We were lucky to get the two points, so we have to build on that and take the positives from that game, too."
One of those positives was the play of the Habs' fourth line, consisting of Kenny Agostino, Michael Chaput and Nicolas Deslauriers.
"I think it's just a product of us playing together again and again. We're getting to know each other better," said Deslauriers. "We just have to keep it up. We complement one another well, and we know what we can bring."