Samuel Montembeault back in training for the Canadiens
Montembeault has missed his last two games with a minor upper-body injury, which is, in fact, to a wrist. He and Cayden Primeau worked with goalie coach Eric Raymond.
Montembeault is hopeful of making his comeback this week.
Yes I hope. Of course, I want to play and return to the game as soon as possible. We continue to assess the situation with Graham (Rynbend), our team therapist, but it is getting better and better. There is no pain, and I felt good today on the ice. I am happy. We are progressing, and I would be very happy to be able to play (this week)
said Montembeault by videoconference.
The 25-year-old Quebecer has played well in his last two starts. He received an impressive total of 104 shots. He notably allowed the Habs to defeat the Dallas Stars 5-3, and snatch a point from the Vegas Golden Knights in a 4-3 overtime loss.
» The more I play, the more confidence I gain. I see a lot of shots too, and that helps. During the month I didn’t play, I worked really hard with Eric (Raymond), so it’s fun to see that work starting to pay off. You just have to continue in the same direction. »
Montembeault is 2-6-4 with a 3.73 goals-against average and 90.4% save percentage so far this season. He was claimed off waivers for the Florida Panthers on Oct. 2.
He was expected to get the bulk of the workload in the absence of Carey Price and Jake Allen, who will miss up to eight weeks with a lower-body injury.
Montembeault is aware that this could be a turning point in his career as a professional hockey player.
Yes, absolutely. It’s the first time I’ve had the opportunity to show what I can do in the NHL. I played a few games with the Panthers, but this is really my first real big opportunity. I’m really happy with the challenge, it’s going well so far and I’m really looking forward to it
said Montembeault.
Primeau, however, got the last two starts due to Montembeault’s injury. Michael McNiven was even his backup in the stinging 8-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
For their part, forwards Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron trained in dark blue jerseys. This means that they could not receive hits.
» For Gally and Paul (Byron), they will not play tomorrow (Thursday). Maybe this weekend, but probably not both at the same time. You have to see, on a daily basis, how they progress and how they will feel. »
Gallagher hasn’t played since Dec. 30 against the Carolina Hurricanes due to injury, while Byron had preseason hip surgery and is yet to play in 2021-22.
Forwards Christian Dvorak and Jonathan Drouin were missing. Dvorak suffered a blow to the head from Wild defender Jared Spurgeon in the final game. As for Drouin, he is recovering from an upper body injury suffered against the Knights on January 20.
Nothing new for Price
Finally, Carey Price is continuing his rehabilitation in the gymnasium, as is defender Joel Edmundson. In both cases, there is no return date on the ice for the moment, said the Montreal organization.
Forwards Joel Armia and Cole Caufield are continuing to train in Madison, Wis., after each testing positive for COVID-19, and the HC said they will return to Canada on Friday.
They could play (this week), even if the conditions are not optimal
Ducharme mentioned about Armia and Caufield.
In addition, the Bleu-blanc-rouge announced that it had traded defender Corey Schueneman to the Lava Rocket, placed defender Sami Niku on waivers, removed Josh Brook’s name from the injured list and assigned McNiven to the reserve squad. .
The Habs begin an eight-game home stint Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks. The CH lost 4-2 to the Ducks in the first match between the two teams this season, on October 31.
