Habs drill power play as schedule squeeze looms in December
The Canadiens had an 11 a.m. practice scheduled for Friday, but associate coach Kirk Muller jumped the gun. Muller had the team’s power-play units on the ice early. There was more work on the power play during the 50-minute practice. And Muller kept the players on the ice for some extra work after the practice ended. “(Shea Weber just came back and we’re working on finding the right places, the right spots,” Jonathan Drouin said. “Weby’s been back for one game and we’re all trying to feel comfortable. (Brendan Gallagher) has changed his spot as well; he’s in the high slot for shots Everyone’s feeling each other out and it’s going to take a couple of games.” The power play has been a problem for most of the season and the Canadiens rank 29th in the NHL with a success rate of 14.4 per cent. Montreal has scored four goals in 19 opportunities (21 per cent) during the past six games, but consistency has been a problem. The addition of Weber and Jesperi Kotkaniemi to the first unit could produce a turnaround, but the Canadiens don’t have the luxury of time. They have lost five games in a row (0-3-2) and, after two days of intensive practice, they embark on a taxing December schedule with back-to-back home games Saturday against the New York Rangers (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio) and Sunday against the San Jose Sharks (7 p.m., SN, SN1, RDS, TSN 690 Radio). Traditionally, December presents a challenge for the Canadiens and this year is no different. Montreal will play 15 games — and nine of them are on the road. Six of those games are grouped around a short break for Christmas. The folks who run the team like to fill the Bell Centre with some family entertainment around the holidays — this year it’s the Cirque du Soleil — and that means the Canadiens are on the road from Dec. 19 to New Year’s Eve. They play in Colorado, Arizona and Las Vegas before Christmas and then go back on the road for two games in Florida and one in Dallas. That schedule, combined with the losing skid, puts some pressure on the Canadiens to turn things around during the homestand, which concludes with a game against Ottawa on Tuesday. “There’s pressure, but it shouldn’t affect the way we play,” Drouin conceded. “We’ve lost five in a row and we’ve fallen down in the standings and that’s not what you want. That Carolina game, we had 49 shots, we had opportunities but their goalie played well. But we definitely have to start winning games.” It’s rare to have three days between games and Drouin feels the Canadiens will benefit from two days of practice devoted to teaching. “Yesterday’s practice, we worked on specific things and you don’t always get to do that during the season,” Drouin said. The two days also allowed head coach Claude Julien to tweak his lineup. He used David Schlemko with Weber on Tuesday and Brett Kulak will pair with the captain on Saturday. It’s a rapid rise for Kulak, who was playing in Laval last week. There will be a change up front, as Paul Byron returns after missing 14 games with a lower-body injury. As of Friday afternoon, Byron was still on the injured reserve list, but he has been practising with Kotkaniemi and Artturi Lehkonen. Kotkaniemi joked about trying to keep up with the speedy Byron, but he’ll be looking to find Byron with a stretch pass or two. Julien will wait until Saturday to name his starting goaltender, but don’t be surprised if he departs from the norm of splitting the work in back-to-back games and uses Carey Price in both weekend games.