Updates from morning skate - November 26

BUFFALO -- The Canadiens held an optional skate at KeyBank Center on Friday morning ahead of their matchup with the Sabres.

SHOP: Canadiens Junior Ribbed Roller Crew
Eleven players hit the ice, including forwards Cole Caufield, Jake Evans, Cedric Paquette, Michael Pezzetta, Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki, defensemen Joel Edmundson, Sami Niku, Mattias Norlinder and Alexander Romanov, and goaltender Jake Allen.
Norlinder in, Paquette out
During his pregame press conference, head coach Dominique Ducharme confirmed that he'll be featuring 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight.
Ducharme successfully employed that same formula against the Nashville Predators last weekend in a 6-3 victory at the Bell Centre.
Norlinder draws into the lineup, while Paquette is a healthy scratch.
"It gives us a different rhythm up front. You can play cards a little bit more and use the guys that are going well at that time to get a little bit more. On the road, matchups are also different, so it can help on that side," explained Ducharme, regarding the 11-7 combination. "On defense, we're not where we want to be right now and it gives us a little bit more in terms of options, if one guy isn't playing well or a few guys aren't playing well."

Goaltender Sam Montembeault starts for Montreal, while Allen will face the Penguins in the road trip finale on Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena.
Ducharme on Edmundson: 'He's trending in the right direction'
Edmundson won't make his season debut on this road trip, according to Ducharme, but he should be available in the near future.
The veteran blueliner will likely start practicing with contact early next week in Montreal, and then it's just a matter of getting into proper game shape before lacing up his skates for real.
"He's trending in the right direction, he's getting a lot closer," confirmed Ducharme. "But, he'll need that little bit of time where he's going to be going all out like in the game."
All eyes were on Edmundson during Thursday afternoon's practice when he skated alongside Jeff Petry.
The pair enjoyed success together last season and could be reunited once Edmundson is finally cleared to play.

Suzuki: 'We're trying to create a loose atmosphere'
Petry and Artturi Lehkonen both confirmed on Thursday that the collective feeling around the locker room isn't positive, and with good reason given the club's 5-14-2 record after 21 games.
But, with plenty of hockey still left on the calendar, there's been a concerted effort by several players to keep the group's spirits up, according to forward Nick Suzuki.
"I wouldn't say I'm the biggest comedian on the team, but there's guys that have been doing a good job of trying to keep the boys still laughing and trying to have fun as much as we can," said Suzuki. "We've got a couple of guys. Edmundson is really funny. Gally, Evans and Lehky, those three combined are pretty funny together."

Hopefully, that has Ducharme's troops in the right frame of mind come puck drop.
"We're trying to create a loose atmosphere. We don't want to be tense out there. That's when mistakes and bad plays happen," noted Suzuki. "You just want to stay confident as much as you can."