Game Day - Devils @ Canadiens
Nathan Beaulieu returns to the lineup on Thursday night, while Zach Redmond will make his Canadiens debut
- Both Phillip Danualt and Greg Pateryn didn't take part in the on-ice session. Danault felt sick and returned home, but he should be available to face the Devils. Pateryn, meanwhile, was given a therapy day and remains a game-time decision.
- For his part, Nathan Beaulieu skated alongside the rest of his teammates on Thursday morning and will be back in the lineup on Thursday night for the first time since going down on November 22 against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre when he took an errant puck to the throat area.
"I'm good. It was a pretty scary incident that happened. Pretty fluke, but I rehabbed good. The first couple of days were tough. I couldn't really speak and going up a set of stairs was like running a marathon. I had a lot of blockage in my throat. I got all healthy. I'm back to normal. I'm 100 percent and I'm happy to say that I'm ready to go," said Beaulieu, who spent the last six games on the sidelines.
The 24-year-old defenseman is grateful that everything worked out for the best during his recovery and that his injury wasn't far worse.
"I'm very fortunate that nothing was fractured or broken. I got everything back," mentioned Beaulieu. "It was definitely scary. I couldn't breathe for a couple of minutes. I didn't really know what to expect. It wasn't like losing your breath and getting the wind knocked out of you. It was a different feeling. I spent the night in the hospital. I saw a specialist a few days ago and I have no blockage in my throat or anything anymore. I'm excited to be back."
- Zach Redmond, meanwhile, will also be making his regular-season debut for the Canadiens on the back end. Back in October, Redmond suffered a broken foot at practice. He recovered from the injury, and recently was assigned to the AHL's St. John's IceCaps on a conditioning stint before re-joining Michel Therrien's troops on their road trip in California.
- It was announced on Wednesday evening that the Canadiens will have to soldier on without centermen Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais in the lineup for the next six to eight weeks. That means that it will be up to the rest of the group to carry the load and find ways to generate offense beginning on Thursday night against New Jersey.
Captain Max Pacioretty believes the Canadiens are set to meet the challenge that comes with being deprived of the services of two important pieces of the puzzle.
"It will be great for the guys who'll have an opportunity to up their game and show what they're capable of. It happens on every team, every year, so there are some guys who are probably excited to have the opportunity to show that they can create things offensively," said Pacioretty. "We have to focus on things one game at a time and playing the right way. We have good depth on our team and we like the team we have."
Pacioretty also emphasized the need for the Canadiens to stick to the style of play that has defined them all year long - playing a quick brand of hockey and using their overall speed to their advantage.
"We stay the same team. Regardless of who we're playing, we're skating well. When they built this team, they did it with depth and that depth comes with everybody being fast," stressed Pacioretty. "We saw to what point we were tough to play against when we were out West. When we get away from that, that's when we get into trouble. We like the way we've been playing. We've been skating hard. We've been making teams turn for pucks and making it hard on their d-men. Eventually, it wears them down."
- Having been in the coaching game at the NHL level for quite a while now, the Canadiens' bench boss knows a significant challenge awaits his group without Galchenyuk and Desharnais in tow.
"Adversity, you deal with it every season. It's my 12th year as a coach. You generally don't stay on a cloud from the start of the year to the end. The loss of certain players, it's a part of the marathon of a hockey season," explained Therrien. "Every time you're missing a player, it's always a challenge. We're affected by the loss of our two centermen, so we'll definitely have to find solutions internally. We're going to focus on that."
- In support of La Grande Guignolée des médias, the Canadiens are inviting the public and fans to bring non-perishable food items to the Bell Centre on Thursday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at La Place des Canadiens located in la Cour Rio Tinto. Youppi!, Alumni and players' wives will be on-site to thank fans for their generosity. People making a donation will have the chance to win tickets to the game against the Devils. In exchange for their contributions, people attending the game will also have the opportunity to win autographed memorabilia.
- After being given the night off in St. Louis on Tuesday, Carey Price will get the start in goal for the Canadiens on Thursday night. The Devils will counter with Cory Schneider between the pipes.
- If the Canadiens win on Thursday night, it would mark their 2,000th victory on home ice in team history, including their time in both the NHA and NHL ranks.
- Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on Sportsnet 360 and RDS, as well as on TSN Radio 690 and 98,5 fm.
