Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Artturi Lehkonen, Laurent Dauphin, Brendan Gallagher, Dominque Ducharme, France Margaret-Belanger, Alex Belzile, Lukas Vejdemo, Rafael Harvey-Pinard,Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — On Sunday afternoon, the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) agreed to postpone all games involving a Canadian-based team playing a U.S.-based team through December 23rd. As a result, the Canadiens matches against the Islanders, Rangers, and Devils scheduled for this week are postponed and will be rescheduled.
The uncertainty around the Canadiens began on Saturday when practice was cancelled for precautionary reasons. Later in the day, the organization announced that Artturi Lehkonen was added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.
On Sunday, Cedric Paquette missed practice as he was in preventive isolation due to having COVID symptoms, and Laurent Dauphin was added to the league’s protocol list later in the day.
Players around the league have shown concern with the league continuing its activities as outbreaks increased across the NHL. “I have a lot of trust in what we’re doing,” Brendan Gallagher said on Sunday. “You follow what you can to keep yourself safe, and trust that everyone is going to do the same.”
“It’s concerning to see what is happening around the world in general, and in the sports world. At the same time, I have confidence in the league, and they discuss a lot with the NHLPA, to assure that everyone can be the most protected as possible,” Dominique Ducharme said earlier in the day.
Gallagher and Samuel Montembeault mentioned that players were concerned about the possibility of testing positive while in New York, and forced to quarantine in hotel room in the United States over the holidays.
The Canadiens are scheduled to resume action on December 28th against the Lightning in Tampa Bay.
Organization Disappointed
On Thursday, the Canadiens issued a statement two hours before puck drop announcing that the game versus the Flyers will be played with no fans in the building. The decision gave little time for ticket holders to change their plans for the evening. Cole Caufield‘s father tweeted about his travel to Montreal, and not being able to enter the building to watch his son.
Double vaccine ✅
Booster shot ✅
PCR test ✅
Travel through customs ✅
Wearing a mask ✅
No symptoms ✅
Find out 2 hours before puck drop no fans 😂
Hope they let a camera in so I can watch on TV while I am in 🇨🇦— Paul Caufield (@PaulCaufield6) December 16, 2021
“At such short notice, we were extremely disappointed,” France Margaret Belanger, President, Sports and Entertainment for Groupe CH told TVA Sports about the Quebec public health officials request.
“We know that we had many fans that were in transit. We issued a media release, we sent an email to ticket holders, but it doesn’t mean that they were able to view it. There was people that found out that the game will be played with no fans, when they arrived at the Bell Centre.” Belanger added that provincial authorities assured the Canadiens that they would be allowed 50 percent capacity for the home games at the Bell Centre in January.
Last season, the NHL realigned the divisions to avoid cross-border travel for teams. Belanger mentioned that the organization has not been made aware by the league of that possibility being explored.
The President added that the Canadiens are still hopeful to be able to host the draft in July.
More Recalls
On Sunday, the Canadiens recalled Alex Belzile, Lukas Vejdemo, and Rafael Harvey-Pinard from the Laval Rocket before the announced postponements. The three forwards have been playing on the same line for the last six games in Laval, and have enjoyed success. Since being united, Belzile has collected six points, Vejdemo five points, and Harvey-Pinard seven points.
“We play a pretty simple game to start, and when we do that, when we’re heavy, when we’re relentless, when we’re hard to play against, then the scoring chances open up, and it’s time to make plays,” Belzile said about the trios success on Friday. Belzile and Vejdemo have been teammates in Laval for the past four seasons, and have become close friends.
“Hard work,” Jean-Francois Houle immediately answered to explain the line’s success. “I think those three guys compete hard, they’re on pucks, they don’t cheat, they play well defensively.”
Harvey-Pinard received news of his recall while moving into his new condo. The forward left a good impression at camp, and was one of the final cuts. “It’s different emotions. A bit of stress, but at the same time, I’m really excited. It’s a huge opportunity for me. Camp is a first impression, but this will be another first impression if I play a first game. It’s up to me to demonstrate what I’m capable of and to seize the opportunity.”
Rocket on Roll
The Rocket faced the Bruins inside an empty building at Place Bell on Friday. Providence took an early lead scoring twice against Michael McNiven on their first four shots. Laval responded with six unanswered goals, including three on the power play, and went on to 6-3 victory over Providence. The Rocket have won five of their last six games.
“I thought we had a really slow start, picked up a little bit midway though the first. We had some good bounces tonight. Some times, some nights you have to take those bounces. They scored a couple of goals in their own net, and we’ll take that,” Houle said.
Houle and the players have raved throughout the season about the energy that the Place Bell fans provide. “This building is great. The fans are always backing us. It’s a very loud building, and it’s a fun place to be in. When you don’t have a crowd, it changes a few things, but maybe that was the reason for our slow start,” added the coach.
Laval was scheduled to leave immediately after the game to head to Syracuse to face the Crunch on Saturday, however COVID changed the plans. The AHL postponed the game due to the league’s COVID protocol affecting Syracuse. Laval’s players and Houle showed concern on Friday night in making the trip, and were relieved that the trip was postponed.
The Rocket resume play on December 29th when the Crunch visit Place Bell.
Lions Win Series
The Lions completed their three-game series against the Mariners over the weekend. On Friday, Shawn St-Amant scored a pair of goals for Trois-Rivieres, but that was not enough as Maine won 4-3 in overtime.
“We were soft and we deserved what we got, we didn’t want to be competitive, like we were on vacation. We were told all day by the other team that there were [COVID] cases and we might not be able to play, and we just weren’t ready for this game,” Eric Belanger said.
The ECHL’s player safety department assessed supplementary discipline to two Lions players following the game. First, Jonathan Joannette was suspended for two games and fined an undisclosed amount as the result of an illegal check to the head during the third period. Secondly, Cedric Montminy was fined an undisclosed amount as a result of a dangerous tripping incident during the second period.
On Saturday, the Mariners dressed 13 skaters for the match due to COVID protocol. Maine opened the scoring with a power play goal in the second minute of play, before Trois-Rivieres answered back with five unanswered goals on their way to 5-2 win.
Peter Abbandonato recorded two points on Saturday in his return with the Lions following his two week stint with the Rocket. The forward has collected 18 points in his last nine games in the ECHL.
Trois-Rivieres heads into their holiday break having won 10 of their last 12 games. They host the Adirondack Thunder on December 27th.
(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)
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