Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Johnathan Kovacevic, Filip Mesar, Laval Rocket, Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, Trois-Rivieres Lions
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens wrapped their preseason schedule on Saturday at the J.K. Irving Centre in Bouctouche, New Brunswick with a 3-2 loss against the Senators.
Cole Caufield opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the preseason. Caufield finished the preseason leading the NHL with four power play goals and 21 shots on goal.
Ottawa scored the next two goals before Kaiden Guhle tied it through 40 minutes with his third of the camp. The third period was scoreless before the Senators took advantage of a power play to win the game in overtime.
“I think the boys competed. Two close games, fell short in both. I love the fight, I love what I see, and looking forward to everything coming together when we get our whole group together,” Martin St. Louis evaluated the team’s performance in Newfoundland on Thursday, and New Brunswick on Saturday.
Montreal heads into the regular season with 0-6-2 record in preseason. The Arizona Coyotes is the only other team that went winless in preseason.
Despite the poor record, the mood in the dressing room remains positive. “It’s really positive in the locker room, it’s great. Kudos to these guys for staying positive and the coaches, and it’s really important when you start without any wins in the preseason it’s easy for the morale to get down. It’s the total opposite in the locker room. That speaks volumes of the guys in the locker room, but also the coaches and the leadership,” Jordan Harris said.
Final Roster Decisions
Opening day playing rosters for all 32 teams need to be set by 5:00 pm. Eastern on Monday. The picture is getting clearer for the Canadiens but questions remain to be answered by deadline.
Up front, the situation is fluid as Mike Hoffman and Christian Dvorak were added to the injury list on Friday with upper body injuries. Joel Armia, Emil Heineman and Nick Suzuki were not part of the forwards available to play the pair of matches on the east coast. Suzuki is the only forward that the organization has stated at this time to be back for opening night.
Kent Hughes made several moves on the weekend to start finalizing the defensive units. On Saturday, the Canadiens claimed Johnathan Kovacevic off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets. Kovacevic spent the majority of the last three seasons with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and dressed for four games with Winnipeg Jets last year.
On Sunday, Corey Schueneman and Madison Bowey were placed on waivers and will be assigned to the Laval Rocket on Monday if cleared.
Along with Kovacevic, Michael Matheson, David Savard and Chris Wideman have a secure roster spots. There are three spots available for Guhle, Harris, Justin Barron, Arber Xhekaj and Otto Leskinen.
As Samuel Montembeault was not placed on waivers on Sunday, it signifies that Montembeault will backup Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau will be assigned to Laval on Monday.
Rocket Camp
The Laval Rocket were in Belleville on the weekend to play a pair of preseason games. On Saturday, Pierrick Dube opened the scoring for Laval before allowing three goals to the Toronto Marlies in a 3-1 loss. Laval gave Toronto nine power play opportunities in which the Marlies scored two times.
“I think we had good intensity, maybe a little too much and we took too many penalties. It was hard to roll all the lines when it’s like that. I liked our speed, and I liked that we were intense,” Jean-Francois Houle evaluated the afternoon.
On Sunday, the Belleville Senators had a commanding 5-2 lead after 40 minutes before Laval netting three goals in 2:20 during the third period and force overtime. The extra period did not settle the match and the duel headed into shootout. Belleville scored twice and went on to 6-5 victory.
Filip Mesar got his first taste of the AHL in Belleville. Over the weekend, the Canadiens first round draft pick collected one goal, two points, plus-1 and took four shots on goal. “I think I can play in [the AHL]. I’m so thankful to the coaches that gave me this opportunity with big ice time,” Mesar following the match against Toronto.
“He was very good. Once again, he stood out with his skating. He made some good plays offensively. He maybe keeps the puck a little too long sometimes, but he is 18 years old. It’s learning to know when to share it and when to keep it,” Houle told RDS on Sunday.
Laval’s regular season begins on Friday when the Belleville Senators visit Place Bell.
Trois-Rivieres Camp
Trois-Rivieres Lions camp begins on Monday at Colisee Videotron. In their inaugural season, the Lions earned a playoff spot by finishing third in the North Division. Trois-Rivieres’ playoff run lasted seven games following a series loss against the Newfoundland Growlers.
Eric Belanger is optimistic that his team can go further this season. “I’m approaching this second season in a positive way. Last year, when we had our full roster, we had success. I want us to go further than what we did last season. I believe that if the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, that we have the hockey players that we think and that we do not have to dress 86 players again, we have a team that can aspire for the championship.”
Belanger along with assistant coach Pascal Rheaume and goaltending coach Alex Cousineau were in Laval for the first three days of Laval’s training camp. “There is an opening for us to get involved. There are several of our players who are there, so we can already start evaluating several hockey players that I don’t really know yet. Discovering other approaches as a coach makes it possible to validate or adjust certain things. It’s good to be able to exchange,” the coach said about the experience.
The Lions have 14 players signed to an ECHL contract and are expecting to receive players from Laval, as the Canadiens and Rocket finalize their respective rosters. “That’s why I’m glad we went to Laval because it allowed us to see the targeted players who are likely to come with us. We can have an idea,” added Belanger.
Trois-Rivieres is not playing any preseason games, and begin the regular season on Oct. 21st when the Maine Mariners visit the Colisee Videotron.
(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)
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