Workload gets heavier for Budaj
With Price out, Canadiens’ backup goaltender gets third straight start against Leafs
Peter Budaj didn’t see a lot of ice time at the Sochi Olympics, but his workload has gotten heavier since the Canadiens resumed playing this week.
With Carey Price out with an undisclosed lower-body injury, the Canadiens’ backup goaltender will get the nod again Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN Radio 690).
“If I get a chance to play I’ll be excited and I’ll be ready,” Budaj, who was part of Team Slovakia at the Olympics, said after the Canadiens’ optional practice Friday in Brossard.
It will be Budaj’s third start in four nights after a 2-1 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday and a 6-5 shootout win Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Budaj couldn’t recall when he last played back-to-back games, but said he doesn’t really keep track of statistics like that. “I felt pretty good,” he said. Price had a treatment day on Friday at the Canadiens’ practice facility and will travel with the team on Sunday to California for a fourgame road trip that starts Monday in Los Angeles.
“It’s day to day,” coach Michel Therrien said.
“He’s doing well right now. He’s doing better, so that’s a good sign.”
Saturday’s game is the fourth meeting this season between the Atlantic Division rivals as the hunt for playoff spots kicks into a higher gear. The Canadiens sit in second place in the division with 73 points, two more than the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Leafs. (The Lightning has played two fewer games than the Habs and Leafs.)
“Teams understand, especially at this time of the year, that two points are crucial,” Therrien said.
“So I’m expecting an intense game like we always have when they’re playing us. It’s always a special time when you play the Leafs, especially on a Saturday night. They’re fun games to be part of, but both teams understand that this is a race to make it to the playoffs.”
The Leafs have a good power play and the Canadiens will have to be disciplined, Therrien added.
It will be Dale Weise’s first taste of the Habs-Leafs rivalry since being acquired by the Canadiens from the Vancouver Canucks in early February.
“It’s pretty cool,” Weise said. “Obviously, everyone knows I grew up a Montreal fan so this is kind of the big rivalry that was in my time. I’m excited to be a part of it.”
The Canadiens have taken three out of a possible four points in their first two games after the Olympic break.
“I think we felt a lot better (Thursday) than we did in the first game,” Daniel Brière said.
The Canadiens felt better with the puck, moved better, and their passes were sharper against the Penguins, Brière added.
“Obviously, probably not happy with giving up five goals,” Brière said. “But overall it was a much better effort than it was the first night.
“It’s tough sometimes to get the mindset back into competing, fighting for loose pucks after being off for two-and-half, three weeks.”
Brière scored twice against the Penguins, including the tying goal in the third period. He now has 11 goals on the season and has been averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time.
Asked if he gets frustrated by his ice time, Brière said: “As any player, you always want more. If I’d played 15 minutes, I’d want 18. And if played 18, I’d want 22. I mean, that’s how we are. We’re all competitive. We always want more. We want more responsibilities.
“But at the end of the day, it’s not my ice time that’s important. We’ve put ourselves in a good spot here. We want to stay or keep moving forward, put ourselves in the best position possible for the playoffs.”
P.K. Subban, who made a costly turnover against the Penguins that led to a goal in the third period, didn’t play in overtime — to the puzzlement and chagrin of some fans and observers.
“We decided to give him a little less ice time as of the middle of the third period,” said Therrien, adding sports are a game of mistakes and the team that makes the fewest has more chance of winning.
The coach sensed that Subban wasn’t on his game and the score was close, so they went with players they thought were more able to execute well and ensure they made the fewest mistakes possible.
“We have a lot of confidence in P.K. Subban,” said Therrien, who also noted the defenceman has to learn to make the percentage plays.
When Subban makes those plays that’s when he’s effective and helps the team, the coach added.
Therrien also called it normal that Subban has had two games where he probably could have played better, noting that when you come back from the Olympics, often your concentration isn’t always up to speed.
Notes: Dustin Tokarski, who was called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs on Wednesday, will be the Habs’ backup goaltender on Saturday. Ryan White, who has the flu, wasn’t at practice Friday. Michael Bournival (concussion) and Brandon Prust (upper-body injury) won’t play against the Leafs. Bournival wore a no-contact jersey on Friday as he practised with his teammates for the first time since suffering a concussion on Feb. 6, when he was accidentally hit in the jaw by Weise’s stick.
“I’m happy where I am in the (concussion) protocol,” Bournival said.
“I want to make sure I’m at 100 per cent when I come back.”
bbranswell@ montrealgazette.com
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