The Canadiens begin their season against the Sabres in Buffalo Thursday. Here are five things you should know, from Pat Hickey:
1 In Price they trust
Carey Price showed he’s in midseason form after a strong performance in the Canadiens’ final exhibition game, a 9-2 win over the Ottawa Senators Saturday at the Bell Centre. The goaltender didn’t face a lot of shots, but he had to make a series of acrobatic saves. General manager Marc Bergevin recognized Price’s value when he signed him to an eight-year extension during the summer worth US$84 million. That will make him the highestpaid goaltender and highest-paid Canadien in NHL history.
2 Defence in flux
Did we mention Price had to make acrobatic saves Saturday? That’s because the Canadiens are still sorting out their defence. The team faced a major rebuilding project after losing Andrei Markov, Alexei Emelin, Nathan Beaulieu and top prospect Mikhail Sergachev during the off-season. Montreal will start the season with four defencemen who have never played a regular-season game in a Canadiens uniform — Victor Mete, Karl Alzner, David Schlemko and Joe Morrow. Mark Streit, who turns 40 in December, returns to Montreal after a nineyear absence.
3 Drouin to fill hole at centre
After coming up short against the New York Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs last season, Bergevin made a concerted effort to bolster the offence. He stepped out of his comfort zone when he traded first-round draft pick Mikhail Sergachev to Tampa Bay for Jonathan Drouin. The Ste-Agathe native has beaucoup de talent and he’s being asked to plug the gaping hole at centre on the top line. To start the season, he’ll be between proven sniper Max Pacioretty and the hardworking Brendan Gallagher.
4 Galchenyuk still question mark
We won’t be debating whether Alex Galchenyuk will be playing centre this season, but there will still be questions about how he’s used. To start, he’ll be the leftwinger on a line with Philip Danault at centre and Andrew Shaw. Galchenyuk had a slow start in training camp, but his play improved over two weeks. Nobody should be surprised if head coach Claude Julien uses him as a right-winger on with Pacioretty and Drouin. There should also be no surprise if Galchenyuk slumps and drops to the fourth line.
5 Special-teams options
The special teams will be improved after finishing 13th on the power play and 14th on the penalty kill last season. Julien has been using four forwards to complement Shea Weber’s cannon-like shot on the first unit. There is more movement of the puck and the personnel, and that provides the Canadiens with a lot of options. There were signs of improvement on the penalty kill last season after Julien replaced Michel Therrien. Julien introduced a more aggressive style that puts the pressure on the player with the puck.