Good first impression for Habs newcomer Folin
Defenceman picks up assists, blocks two shots in easy 8-1 dismantling of Detroit
First impressions are important and Christian Folin made a good one Tuesday night as he made his first appearance in a Canadiens uniform.
“I thought he was good tonight,” coach Claude Julien said after the Canadiens crushed the Detroit Red Wings 8-1. “He actually surprised me how good he was. He has a good first pass, he defended well. He seemed poised. I really liked his game and so it was nice to see.” When the Canadiens obtained Folin from the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 9, it was assumed that he was brought in merely as insurance.
The Canadiens were winning and Julien was content with the play of his top six defenceman. But after starting the current road trip with two losses, Julien decided a change was in order. He juggled all three of his defence pairs and inserted Folin into the lineup in place of Mike Reilly
. Playing on the third pair with Brett Kulak, Folin turned in a strong performance. He played 17:30, picked up an assist, blocked two shots and was a plus-3 for the game.
He took five shots and four of them were on the net; the fifth was blocked.
“He’s got a good shot,” said Julien, who tempered his praise of the newcomer by noting: “The first game the adrenalin is there, but if he can keep playing that well, we’ve got a pretty good defenceman.” Folin was acquired by Marc Bergevin, along with forward Dale Weise, in a bargain-basement deal that only cost the team David Schlemko and Byron Froese — two players who were languishing in the AHL with the Laval Rocket and who did not fit in with the team’s future plans. Folin was a healthy scratch for the seven games following the trade and said it felt good to be in the lineup Tuesday. “I’ve been waiting for a while now, so it’s fun to get the first game under the belt,” Folin said. “The group has been so welcoming and just being out there on the ice was fun. It’s been two weeks and it’s nice to get some minutes and have some fun.”
Folin said he was prepared to play the waiting game.
“I’m kind of used to that situation,” he said. “I’ve been there before, being in and out of the lineup and I know what to bring and know how I’m going to prepare to play my game.”
Folin said he took advantage of the opportunities to shoot the puck.
“I like to shoot the puck, I think everyone does,” he said. “My shot is one of my strengths and I try to use it.”
Folin’s strong showing gives Julien another option on the blue line and Folin welcomes the chance to be part of the internal competition for ice time. “Competition is always good; it makes everyone better and we’re looking forward to playing well the rest of the season,” he said. The Canadiens flew to New York after the Detroit game. They had a day off in the Big Apple Wednesday and will practise in Newark, N.J., Thursday in preparation for Friday’s game against the New York Rangers (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN690 Radio). They are back home to play the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday before heading to California for three games.