It’s been so long I nearly forgot that Andrei Markov was still on this team.
Habs Inside/Out posted some audio from today’s practice in which Markov talks about his injury, when he may or may not return. He talks about wanting to be with the team before going to the Olympics.
My favourite part of this interview is at the very end when he’s told he’s going to need to snow boots soon and he asks, “for what?”. Ah Markov, I love you.
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It seems that way. According to J-F Chaumonts Twitter post, Laraque is sidelined for tonights game due to an unknown injury.
On one hand, this gives for space for players who will actually make an impact. On the other hand, it’s $1.5 million getting flushed down the toilet.
Was the Laraque pickup a benefit for this team? I thought so. That was until I saw Laraque on the PowerPlay.
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Jaroslav Halak will get the start in goal tomorrow night against the New Jersey Devils. It will be his first start since suffering from the flu. Halak has won his last 4 games in a row and five of his last 6.
What could be a historic night for Martin Brodeur, who with a win, will tie the record set by Patrick Roy for most career wins, is also a historic night for Patrice Brisebois. Tomorrow night’s game against the Devils will be his 1000th game played in the NHL. Brisebois played his first game with Canadiens in the 1990-1991 season and has spent the bulk of his 19 NHL seasons here , minus 2 seasons with Colorado and 1 season in the Swiss League during the lockout. He won the Stanley Cup with the Candiens in 1993. Congrats Patrice!
Guillaume Latendresse, who has been out of the lineup since February 1st with a shoulder injury has recieved medical clearance to play. We will know tomorrow whether he will be in the lineup.
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As was expected after word that Robert Lang had suffered a severed Achilles tendon, he is out indefinitely. The official announcement:
Forward Robert Lang underwent successful surgery to repair a severed Achilles tendon on his left leg. The 38-year-old forward is presently recovering from surgery and will be out indefinitely.
Lang suffered the injury during the third period of Sunday afternoon’s game against the Boston Bruins, at the Bell Centre. He was transferred to the Montreal General Hospital where surgery was performed on Sunday night.
This is a tough loss for the team. I can’t say enough good things about Lang, he was a great acquisition and seemed to really love playing here. He will be missed.
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Very good news on the injury front as every single player has been on the ice today for the practice in Brossard. Georges Laraque was on the ice an hours before regular practice with Strength and Conditioning coach, Scott Livingston. Everyone else was on the ice for the regularly schedule practice.
Carey Price should be in one of the two games played this week, hopefully New Jersey, and it looks like Saku Koivu and Chris Higgins will make a return shortly after the All-Star Break. It will be so nice to get these guys back.
Alex Tanguay and Mathieu Dandenault should make a return in mid-February.
I’m not even sure where everyone is going to go? It’s unfortunate by I can definitely see Matt D’Agostini, Max Pacioretty, and Kyle Chipchura all being sent back down to Hamilton but it just goes to show we can have guys in the Pro’s next year when all of the UFA’s bolt.
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Carey Price may be set to return next week and is hopeful of playing one of the two games, Atlanta or New Jersey, then on to the All-Star Game. He skated with the team for the second time this week and said that he felt really good about his current condition.
Price won’t make it to Ottawa with the team which means that Jaroslav Halak will get his eighth straight start tomorrow against the Senators. This game will actually be a warm up for me as I will be seeing Ottawa play Montreal in Montreal on February 21st, Hockey Day in Canada.
Also, if anyone is interested, ESPN did a really good article on Price entitled, “Carey Price: The Loneliest Man In Sports”. It’s a great article.
Think about it: He is on the ice for 60 minutes. When play is at the opposite end of the rink, he must fight to keep his focus. When the action turns up ice, his senses shift into overdrive. A netminder’s top priority is the puck; he must know where it is at all times. But he must also watch play and predict how it will unfold. He must know a puckcarrier’s options better than the puckcarrier himself, see through traffic in his crease and line of sight, recognize shooters and know their tendencies—all so he can gamble with constantly shifting percentages. When the shot comes, he must handle it, controlling the rebound so as not to give up another. He is his team’s most crucial penalty killer and its last resort. Even if his timing, positioning and reactions are perfect, he can still be beaten by a deflection or tip or 100 mph bullet that neither man nor machine could catch.
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Lots of news from practice today. Along with updates on many players, the Habs have decided to release more information on long term injuries. Instead of using vague discriptions like “upper and lower body injuries” the nature of the injuries will be released to the media.
Carey Price, Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev did not practice today.
Price doesn’t appear to be coming back any time soon and may miss the All-Star game. Carbonneau told the media if he doesn’t play a game with the team before the All-Star game, he should not participate. There is 4 games between now and the All-Star game on January 25th.
Saku Koivu, who practiced with the team Monday, suffered a “setback” in his recovery and may return for Saturday’s game against Ottawa.
Alex Kovalev missed practice because of a sickness. No word if he will miss tomorrow’s game against Nashville.
Mathieu Dandenault (broken arm), Chris Higgins (shoulder) and Georges Laraque (back, I’ll get to that below) all skated today. With the new injury policy, we learned today that Laraque is suffering from a back injury, not a groin as was speculated. He has been skating and hopes to join the team in practice next week.
Yannick Weber has been sent back to Hamilton. He only played one game with the team since being called up January 1st.
**Side Note: I wish they had kept him up, the schedule the this week is pretty light with the Predators and Senators. He only played one game, that mess against Toronto, not really a good chance to see what he could do. I liked what I saw though.**
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TSN IceChips has the latest on these two injured Montreal Canadiens players. Here is the excerpt:
Goaltender Carey Price skated early Monday morning for a few minutes in a track suit, no equipment. Price did not practice Saturday, undergoing his fourth straight day of therapy for a lower body injury. Head coach Guy Carbonneau said on Sunday that if Price feels good enough to skate early next week, he may be able to back up Halak Wednesday in New York or start Thursday vs. Toronto. – TSN
Captain Saku Koivu did some light shooting, skating and passing drills with assistant coaches Kirk Muller and Roland Melanson for 30 minutes before the team’s optional skate started on Monday. Koivu skated lightly on his own before the rest of the team Saturday morning. No further estimate for his return as he has not reached the point where he can skate at full speed and strength. – TSN
It’s good to know Price is back no the ice, he’s been detrimental to the Habs this season and we could really use him. I don’t think I could take a loss against Toronto so I really hope he’s back at that time.
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Lots of information out of Habs practice today (from Habs InsideOut):
Carey Price will not join the team on their trip to New Jersey for tomorrow night’s game against the Devils. He is listed as day-to-day with “lower body discomfort” which he felt during warm up in Tuesday night’s game against Tampa but played anyway. Marc Denis has been recalled from Hamilton to back up Jaroslav Halak for tomorrow’s game. Price may be back as soon as Sunday against the Florida Panthers.
Along with Marc Denis, Kyle Chipchura, Max Pacioretty and Yannick Weber have also been recalled. Chipchura is likely to fill in for Ben Maxwell and Yannick Weber for Ryan O’Byrne who were both sent down to the Bulldogs. Pacioretty is likely to fill in for the injured Alex Tanguay.
Player Links:
Marc Denis’ Canadien’s Profile
Marc Denis’ Hockey DB Stats
Kyle Chipchura’s Canadien’s Profile
Kyle Chipchura’s Hockey DB Stats
Max Pacioretty’s Canadien’s Profile
Max Pacioretty’s Hockey DB Stats
Yannick Weber’s Canadien’s Profile
Yannick Weber’s Hockey DB Stats
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Alex Tanguay will miss at least the next 6 weeks with what’s being described as a shoulder injury. Tanguay suffered the injury in Tuesday night’s win against the Tampa Bay Lightning after being hit hard into the boards by Evgeny Artyukhin. Tanguay has had 26 points in 34 games with the Montreal Canadiens including 10 goals and 16 assists.
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