The Canadiens appear set to keep things steady in Pittsburgh, and that’s bad news for Florian Xhekaj.
Renaud Lavoie reported that the same forward lines and defense pairings were back on the ice this morning, live from Pittsburgh, which lines up with what had already been suggested earlier in the day about the potential lineup. Unless Martin St-Louis springs a surprise, that setup points to Xhekaj heading to the press box again tomorrow night.
The other scratch is still not fully settled, but the same practice looks to have narrowed the decision to Alexandre Texier or Oliver Kapanen. Based on the combinations seen on the ice, Pat Guillet wrote, "All signs point to the Canadiens deploying the same lineup tomorrow night in Pittsburgh against Sidney Crosby 's crew.
Oliver Kapanen should therefore miss a second straight game, just like Florian Xhekaj and Adam Engström, who should once again be left out of the mix."
On defense, there was no movement either. Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson stayed together on the top pair, Lane Hutson and Alexandre Carrier remained the second unit, and Jayden Struble with Arber Xhekaj held down the third pair.
In goal, Jakub Dobes and Samuel Montembeault split the workload, and there still isn’t confirmation on who will get the start Saturday.
St-Louis said in his latest media availability that he still doesn’t know whether Kapanen will be put back into the lineup for this first trip to Pittsburgh. For now, the evidence points in one direction: continuity. That leaves Florian Xhekaj and Oliver Kapanen on the outside looking in again.
The Penguins, meanwhile, opened their season with a 7-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
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That kind of leverage is exactly why any chatter around the Edmonton Oilers and Connor Hellebuyck gets complicated fast. Winnipeg is in position to set the terms, and Edmonton does not have a deep pool of trade chips to work with, which makes the gap between rumor and reality feel especially wide. If a deal ever does get serious, the challenge will not be identifying a goalie of Hellebuycks caliber. It will be finding a package the Jets actually have reason to accept. [Read more 🡒]
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Kent Hughes Went Further Than Fans Realized For A Top Forward
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The interesting part is how far Montreal was willing to get creative in order to make it happen, even if the Blue Jackets never bit. It was a reminder that Hughes is not just looking for smaller upgrades around the edges, and with the Canadiens already among the leagues more active teams this summer, future free-agent windows could bring more swings at impact talent. [Read more 🡒]