GLENDALE — The Canadiens practiced at Gila River Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Here are the lines and defense pairings featured by head coach Dominique Ducharme:
| Sunday, January 16 Practice |
||
|---|---|---|
| LW | C | RW |
| 68 – Mike Hoffman | 14 – Nick Suzuki | 17 – Josh Anderson |
| 32 – Rem Pitlick | 28 – Christian Dvorak | 92 – Jonathan Drouin |
| 62 – Artturi Lehkonen | 71 – Jake Evans | 40 – Joel Armia |
|
55 – Michael Pezzetta / 45 – Laurent Dauphin |
25 – Ryan Poehling |
22 – Cole Caufield |
| 13 – Cedric Paquette (No contact) | 42 – Lukas Vejdemo | 73 – Tyler Toffoli (No contact) |
| LD | RD | G |
| 27 – Alexander Romanov | 26 – Jeff Petry | 35 – Sam Montembeault |
| 8 – Ben Chiarot | 58 – David Savard | 30 – Cayden Primeau |
| 77 – Brett Kulak | 20 – Chris Wideman | 70 – Michael McNiven |
| 43 – Kale Clague | 15 – Sami Niku | |
Ducharme on Byron: ‘He’s going to be back pretty soon’
During his post-practice press conference, Ducharme confirmed that forward Paul Byron will probably join the team on the road at some point this week.
The 32-year-old winger has yet to play this season after undergoing hip surgery on July 30.
“He was getting really close to coming back, but then he got COVID, so [his rebab] had to be stopped. That conditioning, that preparation with his injury, just to make sure he’s well built up to come back, that took a setback,” explained Ducharme. “He’s going to be back pretty soon.”
Video: Dominique Ducharme on the status of Paul Byron
Montembeault or Primeau?
Ducharme wouldn’t reveal his starting goaltender for Monday afternoon’s contest.
If Cayden Primeau gets the nod in favor of Sam Montembeault, it would mark his first outing since December 16 when he backstopped the Canadiens to a 3-2 shootout win over the Flyers at the Bell Centre.
The 22-year-old American entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol on December 29.
“It’s exciting to be getting back to playing. The last month or so has been out of my control, so over the past week, I’ve just been trying to get back into game shape,” explained Primeau. “That’s been the biggest thing.”
Video: Cayden Primeau on improving with Eric Raymond
The Northeastern University product has appeared in three games with Montreal this season, posting a 1-2-0 record, along with a 3.65 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
Veteran Jake Allen returned to Montreal for further evaluation after suffering an injury on January 12 in Boston.
Back in familiar territory
Forward Christian Dvorak is making his return to Gila River Arena for the first time since being acquired by the Canadiens last September.
The 25-year-old Palos Heights, IL native played five seasons with the Coyotes before heading north of the border.
“I have a lot of memories. This team drafted me and took a chance on me. I had a great time here. It was a great five years,” said Dvorak. “It’s good to be back and good to see some old friends. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the team and the organization.”
Video: Christian Dvorak on returning to Arizona
Arizona selected Dvorak in the second round (58th overall) in 2014.
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