EDM@MTL: Quotes of the day

MONTREAL - The Canadiens skated at the Bell Sports Complex on Monday morning ahead of their matchup against the Oilers.

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Following the on-ice session, forward Artturi Lehkonen, defenseman Victor Mete, and interim head coach Dominique Ducharme spoke with reporters via Zoom.
Here are a few highlights from their respective chats:
Lehkonen talked about going up against the dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl three times this week:
Every game against them is a challenge. They're the top two guys in the League, and it's going to be a good challenge for our team. It's going to be an exciting week.

The 25-year-old left-winger also commented on being a healthy scratch nine times over the last 15 games:
Of course it's hard when you're not playing. Of course you want to play and help out the team, but you've just got to wait for your next opportunity and go from there.

Mete, meanwhile, discussed just how tough containing McDavid really is:
He's always been the way he is right now. Even in Junior, you just had to get a guy to shadow him at all times, and that didn't even work. Hopefully, we can have a guy on him at all times and try to take away his time and space. I think that'll be the best, and try to stay out of the box, too. I think that'll help.

The 22-year-old blueliner was also asked about the Joel Edmundson - Shea Weber pairing being tasked with slowing down the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl:
It's going to be a good challenge for them. If they can try to get some big hits on him, that might take him out of the game. We're going to need them to play a huge role.
For his part, Ducharme provided a status update on right-winger Tyler Toffoli, who is sidelined with a lower-body injury:
Tyler won't be available for the series against the Oilers. He'll be re-evaluated, but he should be able to return in the days following the games versus Edmonton. He got hurt near the end of the first game against Vancouver. We didn't think he'd be available for the overtime, but he told me that he was good to play. He had some tests after the game. Obviously, he wasn't really feeling the injury as much in the heat of the action. But, things got worse the next day.

The Habs' bench boss commented on the challenge both McDavid and Draisaitl present as well:
They're definitely a huge part of their team's offense. There's no doubt about it. We always have to make sure to stay active and take away their time and space.