(Brossard) Barring a setback, Cole Caufield should be able to take part in the Canadiens’ next game.
This unexpected news fell Tuesday morning in Brossard, less than 24 hours after the young forward was hit hard at the Bell Center by Trevor Lewis of the Calgary Flames.
Martin St-Louis added that there was a “great chance” that Caufield could face the Senators in Ottawa on Wednesday night.
Still in terms of health reports, the Canadian added that Jonathan Drouin is getting closer to a return, and that he will be on the trip to Ottawa.
On the other hand, David Savard and Sean Monahan will be lost for a period of two to three weeks. Another player, defenseman Mike Matheson, continues to be rated, and rated again, with each day that God brings. He will not have the chance to visit Ottawa with his colleagues, among other things because he will not be on the trip.
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David Savard
These light snippets of information were the only nuggets to savor on this otherwise quiet Tuesday in Brossard, where only four players and a model – literally – took part in this optional training.
It’s that the Canadian is well and truly stuck in that part of the calendar that Martin St-Louis feared: that of “normality”, as he likes to say, where it is the routine that settles more and more .
Speaking of which, the final days of 2022 should tell us what this Canadian is really made of.
Or maybe not?
“I already know the kind of team we have on hand,” replied the coach on Tuesday in Brossard. For us, the important thing is to manage the energy of the guys well. We play a lot of games in a short time this month. But we know what we are capable of doing. »
For example, St-Louis referred to the game the day before at the Bell Center, won in a shootout by the Canadian, by a score of 2-1 against the Flames.
“It was a Monday night… and a Monday night is not the same as a Saturday night, everyone knows that.” But we still played one of our best games of the season, a full 60-minute game. Monday morning, I found our energy a little down, I felt the same. We talked about it a little before the match, and we introduced ourselves the same way.
“So I’m not so sure that the next few weeks will really tell us more about the identity of our team. I think we already know her. But for us, the important thing is to ensure that we manage the situations that come our way. »
In this regard, the Canadian will have to spend a lot of time managing all of this by packing and unpacking; eight of the club’s next ten games will be played on enemy ice, including the now traditional holiday trip to Florida.
“But we play well on the road and the guys like those games,” said goaltender Samuel Montembeault, who will be in goal Wednesday night in Ottawa. On the road, like that, it also allows us to spend more time together. We can say that the next few days will be decisive, yes, but first, I see it as a great challenge. »
Nothing disloyal to Caufield
Martin St-Louis didn’t think Cole Caufield was the victim of a bastard blow during Monday night’s game against the Flames. Rather, he spoke of a game that, in his opinion, was “a bit accidental”. The young striker obviously did not take part in Tuesday morning’s optional training in Brossard, but he still came to the club’s locker room, and according to Samuel Montembeault, he already seemed to be doing great. “We saw him pass here and he seemed to be fine, explained the goalkeeper. I would even say that he had his usual good mood, so that’s a good sign…”
A (very) optional workout
Of course it was optional, it was even spelled out in a club statement. So under these conditions, only four players and two goalkeepers chose to jump on the ice, namely Messrs. Montembeault, Harris, Pezzetta, Drouin and Pitlick. Karel St-Laurent was the club’s other goalkeeper.