Romanov takes the ice with Habs for first time since signing in mid-july
TORONTO It was a dream come true for Alexander Romanov on Friday as the Russian defenceman joined the Canadiens on the ice for the first time since agreeing to an NHL entry-level contract just over two weeks ago.
Romanov, who is not eligible to play in the NHL Return to Play tournament, said he was glad to be skating at practice after a week of quarantine.
“I was in the hotel room all by myself and it was boring,” said Romanov, who was wearing a sport shirt adorned with pandas as he talked to the media on a video conference after practice.
The 20-year-old provided a glimpse of how serious the NHL is taking the bubble when he noted there was a security guard sitting outside his room to make sure he didn’t break quarantine.
Romanov will spend at least the next week getting to know his new teammates and acquiring a feel for the smaller North American ice surface in practices. When the Canadiens are eliminated, he will go back home to Russia to rest before the Canadiens open their 2020-21 training camp in November.
The Canadiens selected the 5-foot-11, 182-pound defenceman in the second round (38th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Top D-men face heavy workload: Coach Claude Julien hasn’t decided on his third defence pairing for Saturday’s opening game against the Pittsburgh Penguins (8 p.m., CBC, SN, NBC, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio), but said he’ll probably be doing a lot of juggling to give maximum time to his three top defenders — Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot and Jeff Petry.
Julien will once again try to use all four lines up front, but getting the right matchups against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will be difficult because the Penguins have the final line change.
Alex Belzile was deemed “unfit to practice” Friday, but we can say with some confidence it’s not COVID-19 related. Belzile was rocked by Toronto defenceman Jake Muzzin in Tuesday’s 4-2 exhibition game loss to the Leafs. Belzile hit his head against the end boards and played only one more shift after the hit.
NHL raises awareness: The NHL said it will use the opening day of the post-season to “pay tribute to those at the forefront of the anti-racism movement and the fight against COVID-19.”
It’s part of the NHL’S new #Weskatefor initiative. The players will wear helmet decals in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Grammy Award winner Michael Bublé will appear virtually to sing O Canada before the Canadiens-penguins game as well as the Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers game in Edmonton (3 p.m., SN, NBC).