Weber poised to return on Tuesday
Look for captain to be back on blue-line as early as Tuesday against Hurricanes
The highlight of the Canadiens’ BUFFALO practice at KeyBank Arena Thursday was a routine power-play drill. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the precocious rookie, established position in front of the net and, as he waited for the shot from the point, a hand grabbed him from behind and tossed him aside. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, meet Shea Weber. The confrontation was the latest evidence that Weber is close to returning to the Montreal lineup after nearly of year of inactivity because of foot and knee problems which required surgery. But, while Weber is ahead of schedule in his recovery, he will not be on the ice when the Canadiens play the Sabres Friday (4 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN-690 Radio), And he won’t play Saturday when the Boston Bruins visit the Bell Centre. “We’ve been talking to the medical staff and everyone feels that Tuesday (against Carolina) could be a possibility for Shea to come back,” said coach Claude Julien. “This has been his first week with contact and, after being out a whole year, he needs to spend that week doing certain things. “There’s no doubt guys are getting excited to see his presence getting closer and closer,” Julien said. “He’s the captain of this hockey team. He’s the leader on and off the ice. Whenever you miss a guy like that, it makes a difference. He’s not going to be our saviour but he’s certainly going to be a big answer to some of things we’re trying to solve right now. We’re looking forward to getting him back but we have a few games before that becomes a possibility.” The weekend games are crucial because they pit Montreal against divisional rivals who are currently ahead of them in the standings. The Sabres have been a bigger surprise than the Canadiens after finishing last in the NHL last season. Buffalo has won seven consecutive games and holds down third place in the Atlantic Division with 30 points. The Bruins, who are dealing with injuries to key players such as Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara, are tied with the Canadiens at 26 points but Boston holds the first wild-card spot because it has a game in hand. The defence hasn’t been good for most of the season. The Canadiens rank 27th in defence, allowing 3.41 goals a game. They were able to get away with miscues early in the season because the offence was producing. But the Canadiens are coming off a 5-2 in New Jersey Wednesday and they have lost five of their past eight games, In that span, they have been outscored 35-27 and have allowed 3.37 goals a game. There was a lot of talk about commitment and communication after Thursday’s practice and goaltender Carey Price said the seeds of a turnaround were planted Wednesday in New Jersey. Price, who said he was determined to finish the game after giving up five goals on 22 shots in the first two periods, said the Canadiens were similarly determined to “win” the third period — which they did when Max Domi scored the period’s only goal. There are no points awarded for winning a period, but the Canadiens hope they can carry some momentum into the weekend. Antti Niemi will start in goal, with Price getting the call Saturday.