Danault returned to practice with the Habs 10 days ago, on Feb. 10, but on Tuesday the 24-year-old got the green light from team doctors to partake in game action.
The Victoriaville, QC native centered a line with Charles Hudon and Alex Galchenyuk at the team's morning skate at the Wells Fargo Center, after missing the Canadiens' last 15 games.
"It's always exciting to see guys get healthy -- the team is excited. We've missed him for awhile now and he's a big part of our group," acknowledged Galchenyuk, as the Habs have gone 4-9-2 without Danault in the lineup. "He skates well, he's good at both ends of the ice, and he also makes plays. He's an easy guy to play with, who creates scoring opportunities and gets us the puck."
Aside from the return of Danault, head coach Claude Julien also hinted that other changes may be on the way, albeit closer to puck drop.
"We haven't finished making all of our decisions for tonight, but there's a good chance that we'll see some game-time changes," admitted Julien following practice. "We have seven defensemen who are ready to go."
HOMEWARD BOUND
The Canadiens will return to Montreal following nine games on the road after Tuesday's game in Philadelphia.
Winless in three games on the current trip, the Habs will nevertheless have to stymie a hot Flyers power play if they're to return home on a high note.
"They're dangerous. I think all five guys on the ice are a threat, and that's tough to kill against," underlined Brendan Gallagher, who for his own part, has two power play goals and a power play assist in his last five games. "I mean, look at [Claude] Giroux, how experienced he is handling the puck. Obviously everything goes through him, and he's really looking at every player on the ice as an option. Like any skilled player, the less time and space we give him, the easier it will be. We've got to stay out of the box and not give them too many chances. If they start feeling it and getting confidence from multiple power plays, I think that's where we'll get into trouble."
The Flyers are ranked 8th league-wide on the power play with a 21.4% efficiency, going 2-for-4 with the man advantage the last time these two teams met.
