The Canadiens got back to work Tuesday afternoon in Brossard after an eight-day vacation because of the 4 Nations Face-Off break in the NHL schedule.
But there were only 14 skaters on the ice when the Canadiens practised at 2 p.m. at the CN Sports Complex.
Players missing included Sam Montembeault, who is in Boston as the third goalie for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and forwards Patrik Laine and Joel Armia, who were part of Team Finland that was eliminated from the tournament with a 5-3 loss to Canada on Monday. Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said Laine and Armia will rejoin the Canadiens on Friday.
Canada and Team USA will play in the 4 Nations Face-Off Final Thursday at TD Garden in Boston (8 p.m., SN, TVA Sports).
Also missing from Tuesday’s practice in Brossard were forwards Josh Anderson, who took a therapy day, and Michael Pezzetta, who suffered a lower-body injury before the break and will be re-evaluated on a daily basis.
Forward Emil Heineman, who has been sidelined since suffering an upper-body injury on Jan. 13 when he was struck by a car as a pedestrian while the Canadiens were in Utah, was also missing. The Canadiens said at the time of the accident that Heineman would be sidelined three to four weeks, and it has now been five weeks. Heineman skated before the Canadiens practised and St. Louis said he’s getting close to returning and will be re-evaluated this week. The Canadiens also announced that defenceman Kaiden Guhle remains out indefinitely after having surgery to repair a lacerated quadricep muscle suffered in a 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 28.
The Canadiens play their next game Saturday in Ottawa against the Senators (7 p.m., SNE, City, TVA Sports). They have six games before the March 7 trade deadline and 26 games remain in the season.
After going 1-7-1 in their last nine games, the Canadiens find themselves six points out of a wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with four other teams between them and the Detroit Red Wings, who hold the second wild-card spot.
“Guys feel rested,” captain Nick Suzuki said after Tuesday’s practice. “Today I thought the pace was high, execution was really good. It was just nice to get back out there.
“We kind of were running out of gas,” Suzuki added about the team’s performance before the break. “We’re trying to do the right things and weren’t really getting rewarded for it. I thought we could have won multiple of those games and it just didn’t go our way. I think we shouldn’t be too disappointed in how we played. We just didn’t get the results and we’re excited to get it going again.”
Suzuki believes the Canadiens can get back in the playoff race. Before slumping in their last nine games, the Canadiens were on a 13-3-1 stretch.
“We know we can get on a run like we had earlier,” Suzuki said. “It’s going to take that to get back into the race and give us a shot to get in.”
It’s also going to take a lot more goals. During the last nine games the Canadiens have been outscored 37-18 and been shut out twice.
After scoring eight goals in his first nine games with the Canadiens, Laine has gone 10 games without a goal and was dropped to the fourth line. Only two of his 12 goals this season have come at even strength. Laine has only six shots in the last seven games and was limited to 11:13 of ice time in a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the last game before the break in the schedule.
The Canadiens haven’t been getting a lot of production from the No. 1 line, either. Suzuki has one goal in the last 10 games, Cole Caufield has one goal in the last seven, and Juraj Slafkovsky has one goal in the last nine.
After practice Tuesday, St. Louis was asked if he has thought about putting Laine with Suzuki and Caufield to see if that might light an offensive spark.
“We think about everything,” St. Louis said.
“I think a lot of our guys have to get going offensively,” the coach added. “But I think to me what’s more important is our collective game. When we’re on collectively I think the individuals benefit. It’s not a one-on-one game hockey. There’s one-on-one moments. But I feel like when we’re on top of our game we’re playing with a pack of five on both sides of the puck and we’re hard to play against defensively. I think it’s going to be a big key for us down the stretch here. I know we have offence, but I think it all starts with our mindset away from the puck on both sides and really playing with five.”
Caufield was asked what he would think of having Laine as a linemate.
“He’s a special talent, a special player,” Caufield said. “He can play with pretty much anybody. He thinks the game at such an elite level that he makes a lot of plays. He keeps his linemates at a good pace. A special player.
“Three righties is tough, but we’ve done it before,” Caufield added, noting he, Suzuki and Laine all shoot right. “It’s not really something we can’t figure out. A really good player and you can find him in good areas to score.”
St. Louis shaved off his beard during the break in the schedule, which he spent with his family, but it looks like he’s starting to grow a new one.
When asked if his wife made him shave, St. Louis chuckled and said: “Trust me, she likes me with no beard.”
The Canadiens will practise again at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in Brossard.