Up a Price, down a Weber

BROSSARD - The Habs may savoring the thought of having Carey Price back in the lineup, but they'll have to do without another one of their star players on Saturday. That's because head coach Claude Julien confirmed after Saturday's morning skate that Shea Weber would miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury, even though he was on the ice with his teammates.

Julien featured rookie defensemen Victor Mete and Jakub Jerabek on a pairing on Saturday morning, and the Habs bench boss, who gave the Czech defenseman a solid report card on his first NHL game against the Predators, believes Jerabek will be able to offer up another steady performance in his second game.
"He's a guy who moves the puck well, who skates well," Julien said of Jerabek. "It was his first game and I found he played well, so we'll see tonight if he's going to continue improving, adjusting, and playing some good hockey for us. That's all we can ask of him and that's what we need."
The firsts will continue for the 26-year-old, who will take part in his inaugural regular-season game at the Bell Centre on Saturday. Jerabek is looking forward to the occasion.
"Of course, it's going to be nice. [It'll be] a little bit different than a preseason game," he said. "I'm really excited."
Saturday's tilt against the Sabres will also be a first for LaSalle native Nicolas Deslauriers, but in a different way. The Canadiens acquired Deslauriers from Buffalo back in October, and the game will be the 26-year-old's first against his former club.
"It hasn't hit me yet, but I'm sure it's going to be special," described Deslauriers, who played 211 games for the Sabres from 2013-2017. "That's where it all started for me. I'm not feeling it right now, but I know that come game time, it's going to be something else."

Although they got some stellar goaltending in Price's absence, the Canadiens are looking forward to the 30-year-old netminder's return, and are using the occasion to turn the page and start afresh.
"It's for sure a new start, but for us, every game is a new start. The last two games, we came away with some very positive points," relayed Charles Hudon, who has three assists in his last four games. "We're able to beat any team, we're a team with a lot of speed and we just need to execute."

For his part, Brendan Gallagher believes his team could've supported the all-world netminder a bit more before he went down with a minor injury early in November, but is confident the Habs have tuned things up in the interim.
"At the start of the year, we felt we left him out to dry a few too many times. Our defensive game has come along, we're giving up less scoring chances against and that's only going to help him back there," explained Gallagher, who scored the Canadiens' lone goal in Dallas on Tuesday night. "Playing in front of a goalie that talented gives you the confidence to go out there and really do what you need to do to find a way to win the game."