Julien opens Canadiens camp with intriguing line combinations
Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk were reunited Friday as the Canadiens opened their training camp in Brossard.
The two broke into the NHL together in 2012 and have been linemates on numerous occasions. They have displayed chemistry in the past, but coach Claude Julien said that wasn’t a factor in putting them on either side of centre Philip Danault.
“I saw them play, but I was always focused on my own team,” said Julien. “You look at Chucky and Gally and they are guys who can shoot the puck. And Gally’s a guy who can go to the net and create space for a guy like Galchenyuk, and Phil is a two-way centreman. We like a lot of things from all those guys, but I’m just making sure I’m cautious here. Let’s not assume that is what I’m going with. There’s certainly a lot of potential there. If it works, great. If not, we have to be able to look at other options.”
Gallagher is aware of the fickle nature of coaching decisions, but he agrees this is a line with potential.
“Lines are always going to change but, for the time being, we’re all excited to be playing together,” Gallagher said after the first practice. “We can be a productive line if we’re all doing what we’re capable of doing. You talk about Chucky and he’s a dangerous guy any time he gets the puck. Phil’s real smart, always in the right position, and playing with these guys makes my job easier.”
Galchenyuk and Gallagher are coming off disappointing seasons marred by injuries. Galchenyuk had a quick start to the season, but struggled after returning from a knee injury. As for Gallagher, he broke his hand for the second time in two seasons, but he was struggling even before the injury.
Gallagher said his second broken hand — he was hit by a slapshot from teammate Shea Weber — was different from his first injury.
“It was more in the finger. And while you try not to think about it, it’s there in the back of your mind,” said Gallagher. “The grip wasn’t there and it took longer and I wasn’t able to shoot as accurately or as quickly.”
Julien put together a number of interesting lines with the warning that they could change quickly.
Jonathan Drouin centred a line with fellow newcomer Ales Hemsky and perennial 30-goal scorer Max Pacioretty; Torrey Mitchell centred Paul Byron and Andrew Shaw; a leaner Michael McCarron was between Jacob De La Rose and Martin Reway, and Tomas Plekanec was with Charles Hudon and Artturi Lehkonen.
Karl Alzner was paired with Jeff Petry, while junior Victor Mete was with Shea Weber, a pairing that will definitely change before opening night.
The intra-squad game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Bell Centre.