Status updates and special occasions

BROSSARD - During his post-practice press conference on Wednesday, head coach Claude Julien provided status updates on a couple of injured Habs.

With respect to forward Jacob de la Rose, who suffered a "cardiac episode" following a preseason game on September 20, Julien indicated that both the coaching staff and team doctors continue to evaluate his progress.
"When a guy hasn't skated and hasn't done anything in a week, you allow him to find some time to get his rhythm again. He's had three decent days of practice, so we're going to go with his situation probably on a day-to-day basis," explained Julien, referencing the 23-year-old Swede. "What he's gone through is pretty dangerous, so they've cleared him to practice. It's always a different thing whether they move to the next step. That's up to the medical staff."

De la Rose continues to practice on a line with Tomas Plekanec and Nikita Scherbak, both of whom were healthy scratches for the first two games of the season.
For his part, forward Nicolas Deslauriers is inching closer to a return to active duty after undergoing surgery to repair a facial fracture on September 18.
According to Julien, Deslauriers is expected back "in a week-and-a-half to two weeks at most."
With players like de la Rose and Deslauriers on the mend, Julien knows that he'll likely have to make some lineup moves in short order.
"I think it's pretty obvious that sooner than later we're going to have to make some decisions, and they're not going to be easy ones," admitted Julien, before explaining his rationale behind tweaking his players in uniform. "I'm one of those coaches that looks at what group of guys will form the best team, and it takes a little bit of everything... We've got some options, and at one point we're going to have to face the music here and make those decisions. It's coming, and it's coming pretty soon."
Speaking from experience
It was just 12 short months ago that defenseman Victor Mete experienced a home opener at the Bell Centre for the very first time, logging 16:43 of ice time in a loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Now, it will be 18-year-old Jesperi Kotkaniemi's turn to do the same - with his mother, Kati, in attendance to mark the special occasion.
She flew in from Finland to watch her son ply his trade on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings.
"I think it'll be special for him. Last year for me, it was an unreal experience. Just everything that goes on - the crowd, before the game and even during the game. It's just the kick-off to the season for the fans, too," mentioned Mete. "I think he'll be really excited. It'll be a pretty enjoyable moment."
Fans are encouraged to be in their seats on Thursday night at 7 p.m. for a special pre-game ceremony. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Congratulations, Phillip!
On Wednesday afternoon, Phillip Danault and his wife, Marie-Pierre, revealed that they're expecting their first child in February.
The Canadiens forward proudly made the announcement via his social media accounts on Twitter (
@phildanault
) and Instagram (
@phildanault21
).

It was only a few short weeks ago that HabsTV paid a visit to Danault and his better half in Quebec City to see how the 25-year-old forward trains during the offseason.