Game Day - Avalanche @ Canadiens

BROSSARD -- The Canadiens skated at the Bell Sports Complex on Saturday morning in preparation for their game against the Colorado Avalanche.

• All players were accounted for, besides injured Habs Alex Galchenyuk, Greg Pateryn and David Desharnais, and Friday night's call-ups Michael McCarron and Mark Barberio. The latter two did not arrive in time for practice after flying in from St. John's.
  - The team did not practice line drills during the morning skate, but head coach Michel Therrien announced afterwards that no changes would be made to the squad that faced New Jersey on Thursday.
  "I have no reason to remove anyone from the lineup after the way we played against the Devils," underlined the Habs bench boss in reference to the 5-2 win in which four different Habs enjoyed multi-point nights while firing a season-high 49 shots.

• With no changes to Saturday's roster, that means Max Pacioretty will once again share a line with Alexander Radulov.
  "I like playing with him a lot. I said before the season that he might be one of the top-skilled guys in the world and people kind of laughed at me -- but I think they're agreeing now," pointed out the Habs captain of his new linemate, who leads the team in a two-way tie for assists with countryman Andrei Markov.

"It's just amazing what he does protecting the puck down low, it makes it easy on his linemates, and it's a lot easier than playing with a guy like Gally," Pacioretty added with a laugh -- his assistant captain, and dressing room neighbor, within earshot.
"I won't comment on that," cracked Gallagher in return.
- If the Habs are in a joking mood, that's because they've got a lot to be confident about following their most recent outing, including the performances of the reinforcements who have come up in relief of the injured.
Not to mentioning earning five of a possible six points in their last three.
"The speed throughout our depth is the way we've had success. When guys go down, we're able to maintain that speed. You saw in the third period [against New Jersey], we were able to dominate because we wear down defensemen," continued Pacioretty of Thursday's final frame, in which Montreal outshot New Jersey 24-7. "When we get away from that -- or get a little too cute -- we make it a lot easier on defenses. So when we make them turn, skate them, grind them… it might not open up right away, but by the end of the game we should get our chances."
As someone who's climbed his way up the AHL ranks firsthand on his way to solidifying a spot with the big club, Nathan Beaulieu is confident the Habs will continue to weather to injury storm.
"[The injured guys are] important pieces of our puzzle, but we're not going to do anything crazy here," stressed the 24-year-old, who picked up an assist in his own return from injury on Thursday. "We've got a really deep organization. We're fortunate, because we've got a lot of good players in the minors who could be in the NHL, but we're just so deep right now. I think we'll be fine. There's no panic in our game right now, and we've got to build off last game because it was an important one for us."

• On the topic of last game, the Habs have also vowed to do a better job of keeping Carey Price out of harm's way, after the star goaltender had to take matters into his own hands on Thursday.
  "I think it's near impossible to beat Pricey. You can't beat him one-on-one -- it's literally impossible. The only way you'll score is if he can't see the puck, so I'm sure they're being told to go to the net hard and stand in front of him," acknowledged Beaulieu. "It's really the only way you can beat him. He's frustrated a lot of teams this season and over the last couple of years, so we're going to have to do a better job of protecting him. It happens with every team -- goalies frustrate players -- but Carey's in a league of his own.
  Still, Montreal's resident wrecking ball knows it can be difficult to draw the line between fair play and goalie interference.
  "It's definitely tough because it varies from official to official, but I try to talk to them as much as I can before the game," shared Brendan Gallagher, who is no stranger to the blue paint. "They usually help me out if I'm getting a little too close, and they'll yell at me to take a step forward. You appreciate when that's going on, and I've gotten a little bit better at understanding the comfort zone, but it's tougher now with the coach's review. You've got to be really careful and you've got to be really aware, and it's something we're all getting adjusted to.

• Price will get the start in goal opposite Colorado, and holds a career 3-2-1 record against the Avs. His 15 wins this season are tops in the NHL.
  - Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on CITY, SN360 and TVA Sports.