The hottest subject of this end of the Canadian season is the return to play of Carey Price. And it will remain so for some time.
Posted at 12:24 p.m.
The star goaltender practiced with his team again on Monday morning, but he will not participate in the evening game against the Winnipeg Jets. It is rather Samuel Montembeault who will get the start. He will be assisted by Cayden Primeau, recalled after Jake Allen was injured against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
“I’ll tell you when he comes back!” joked head coach Martin St-Louis, in response to the inevitable daily question about Price.
Very clever is the one who can accurately predict the return date of the 34-year-old veteran. His outfit in training, bluntly, shows a goalkeeper at ease. Apparently, he’s not quite where he wants to be. As proof, Monday morning, he spent almost 90 minutes on the ice, first with the group then alone with his specialized coach Éric Raymond.
Good luck learning more about it.
“I don’t talk about that with him,” added St-Louis. Carey has been in the league for a long time. He has proven himself, he has experience. These guys, I trust them. When he says he’s ready, he’s going to play. »
Montembeault, for his part, will start a game for only the second time in almost a month, having given up the net to Jake Allen for almost all of the team’s last meetings. He was called up for relief Saturday in Toronto and, after being thwarted by the first shot he faced, he kept his team in the game until the end.
His trainer insisted on pointing this out.
“He gave us some really good minutes,” said St-Louis. He was impressive. »
Since the start of the season, “he has shown that he can play in the NHL”.
No new details have also filtered on the state of health of Jake Allen, who did not skate on Monday.
Changes
Photo Bernard Brault, LA PRESSE archives
Jesse Ylönen has looked good in the six games he has played. In the meantime, since his most recent recall at the end of March, he has collected three points, including a goal.
Several changes will be made to the roster for the matchup against the Jets.
Having played the club’s last two games, Chris Wideman was part of the reserve group in morning training. Corey Schueneman should take his place.
In attack, Michael Pezzetta, Laurent Dauphin and Tyler Pitlick should be left out, in favor of Ryan Poehling, Paul Byron and Jesse Ylönen.
The latter has looked good in the six games he has played. In the meantime, since his most recent recall at the end of March, he has collected three points, including a goal.
The Finn is still taming the NHL game. Confined for the time being to a support role, he believes that he still has “a lot of things to improve” before showing the resolutely more offensive face that he displays in the American League.
Above all, he wants to focus on his defensive game and refine “small details” in order to “make life easier”.
Endowed with a well-filled paraphernalia of assets, Ylönen notably counts on a lightning shot… which he does not however show much.
In four of his last six games he hasn’t fired a shot that hit the target.
He himself doesn’t seem to mind too much. “When you play well, you get more shots and more chances to score,” he believes.
Martin St-Louis makes it the least of his worries. He prefers to see the attacker adapt to the game in progress and the coverage of his opponents rather than shooting from everywhere.
“He could get three shots from the blue line that the goalie easily catches, but it would be three shots that don’t mean anything,” he said. I’m not a big fan of guys who shoot just to shoot. Statistics, you have to read them properly, they don’t tell the whole truth. Ylönen has a very good shot and when he has a chance he lets it go. It’s okay to be selective. »