Goaltender Samuel Montembeault said he was confident of making his return to the game this week after taking part in training with the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.
” Yes I hope. Of course, I want to play and return to the game as soon as possible. We continue to assess the situation with Graham (Rynbend), our team therapist, but it is getting better and better. There is no pain, and I felt good today on the ice. I am happy. We are progressing, and I would be very happy to be able to play (this week), ”said Montembeault by videoconference.
Montembeault had missed his last two games with a minor upper body injury – which is, in fact, to a wrist, although the main interested party refused to confirm it. He and Cayden Primeau worked with the Canadiens’ goaltending coach, Éric Raymond.
The 25-year-old Quebecer has certainly done well in his last two starts, when he faced an impressive total of 104 shots. He notably allowed the Habs to defeat the Dallas Stars 5-3, and snatch a point from the Vegas Golden Knights in a 4-3 overtime loss. Enough to raise the level of confidence of the principal concerned.
“The more I play, the more confidence I gain,” said Montembeault. I see a lot of shots too, and that helps. During the month I didn’t play, I worked really hard with Éric (Raymond), so it’s fun to see that work starting to pay off. You just have to continue in the same direction. »
Montembeault is 2-6-4 with a 3.73 goals-against average and 90.4% save percentage so far this season. He was claimed off waivers for the Florida Panthers on Oct. 2 and was expected to get the bulk of the workload in the absence of Carey Price and Jake Allen — who will be sidelined for eight weeks due to a a lower body injury. He is aware that this could be a turning point in his career as a professional hockey player.
“Yes, absolutely. It’s the first time I’ve had the opportunity to show what I can do in the NHL. I played a few games with the Panthers, but this is really my first real big opportunity. I’m really happy with the challenge, it’s going well so far and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Montembeault.
Primeau, however, obtained the last two starts for the Canadian, due to the injury of Montembeault. Michael McNiven was even his backup in the stinging 8-2 loss against the Minnesota Wild, and he came on as a backup in the third period – it was his first career appearance in the NHL. McNiven did not take part in practice on Wednesday.
Gallagher and Byron close to return to play
For their part, forwards Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron trained in dark blue jerseys, which meant they couldn’t take hits.
Gallagher hasn’t played since Dec. 30 against the Carolina Hurricanes due to injury, while Byron had preseason hip surgery and is yet to play in 2021-22. They would each be close to a return to play.
“For ‘Gally’ and Paul (Byron), they won’t be playing tomorrow (Thursday). Maybe this weekend, but probably not both at the same time. We have to see, on a daily basis, how they progress and how they will feel,” summed up head coach Dominique Ducharme.
As for them, forwards Christian Dvorak and Jonathan Drouin were missing. Dvorak suffered a blow to the head from Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon last game and his condition is being reassessed daily as Drouin recovers from an upper body injury sustained in the game against the Knights on January 20. In the case of Drouin, however, his absence is for an indefinite period, mentioned the Canadian.
Finally, Carey Price is continuing his rehabilitation following knee surgery at the gym, as is defenseman Joel Edmundson. In both cases, there is no return date on the ice for the moment, said the Montreal organization.
Forwards Joel Armia and Cole Caufield continue to train in Madison, Wis., after each testing positive for COVID-19, and the HC has clarified that they will return to Canada on January 28.
“They could play (this week), even if the conditions aren’t optimal,” Ducharme said of Armia and Caufield.
The Bleu-blanc-rouge also announced that it had traded defender Corey Schueneman to the Laval Rocket, put defender Sami Niku on waivers, removed Josh Brook’s name from the injured list and assigned McNiven to the reserve squad.
The Canadiens begin an eight-game home stint on Thursday night, hosting the Anaheim Ducks at the Bell Centre. The CH lost 4-2 against the Ducks in the first match between the two teams this season, on October 31.