Covering the activities of a professional team comes with its rituals. Among these, one of the most timeless remains to ask the player of an opposing team from the place if his first visit has a special meaning.
There then follows a range of possible reactions, ranging from complete disinterest to legitimate, albeit generally sober, enthusiasm.
It will now be necessary to create a separate category for Alexander Carrier. The Nashville Predators defenseman lit up when his first game at the Bell Center was part of the conversation.
Even though he landed a full-time job with the Preds in the past year, Carrier, at 25, has so far only played 37 career games, and none in Montreal – nor against the Canadiens, in fact.
Talkative, the young man indicated that the element he was looking forward to the most was jumping on the ice at the sound of Fix you, and this, even if this song marked the entry to the local club. However, it is to the sweet sound of Rage Against The Machine that announcer Michel Lacroix presents the starting lineups since the start of the season.
When the representative of Press pointed out to Carrier that the Habs had put away Coldplay’s long game, the reaction was glaring with sincerity.
I am really disappointed. This is the moment I was waiting for the most, it would have been impressive.
Alexander carrier
This does not prevent that November 20 was circled in his agenda for a long time. As soon as the NHL schedule was released, he looked up the date of his first visit to the metropolis.
In addition, circumstances have meant that the Predators have been in Montreal since Wednesday. After defeating the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Tuesday, the team was scheduled to travel to Ottawa to face the Senators there. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 among representatives of the federal capital caused the postponement of this duel. Rather than return to Tennessee, we immediately set sail for Montreal.
Carrier and his teammate Mathieu Olivier were therefore able to spend more time with their family. Olivier, a former Sherbrooke Phoenix, in the QMJHL, told a journalist from The gallery having experienced moments full of emotions when he saw one of his sisters for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for Carrier, he spent time at the family home, which gave him the opportunity to see all the relatives. “Everyone is excited” by his first game against the Canadian, he assured. We are inclined to believe it.
Return
Alexander Carrier, since we are talking about him, will be back in training this Saturday evening. He has missed his last three meetings with an upper body injury.
Acadian Philippe Myers will skip his turn to make room for him in the squad. In attack, former CH Nick Cousins, also recovered from an injury, will replace Thomas Novak. The nostalgic will also be happy to learn that another ex, the swift Michael McCarron, will be in the game.
The Predators’ unscheduled hiatus in Montreal allowed the team to hold two full high-intensity practices, but it also allowed the players to spend some quality time with each other on the road, let alone in one of the most popular cities on the circuit. Alexandre Carrier played the tourist guides.
“There we can not wait to play”, however qualified head coach John Hynes, who expects to face a “hungry” Habs who, despite the score, “had his chances” in the defeat of 6- 0 against the Pittsburgh Penguins last Thursday.
Hynes is especially wary of the group of attackers of the CH, even if the offensive production is not there after 19 games this season in the Montreal camp.
Jusse Saros will defend the visitors’ net. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.