This evening, the Canadian will be in action at the Bell Center against the Blue Jackets. After Thursday’s loss to the Wild, we wondered if Martin St-Louis was going to make any changes to his lineup.
And in the end, we got our answer: yes.
In fact, it is on the blue line that we will see the change in the formation: Justin Barron will be back in uniform, as he will take Jayden Struble’s place.
It’s been a long time since Barron saw any action. In fact, since the concussion he suffered following a hit from Jacob Trouba on October 22, Barron played on October 31… and that’s it.
For a young person whose development we want to try to promote, playing a single match in almost a month is not ideal.
Barron’s return also means the club will once again rely on two right-handed defensemen in the lineup. David Savard, obviously, is the other.
As for the rest of the lineup, Samuel Montembeault will be the starting goalie.
We also note that on the attack, even if Rafaël Harvey-Pinard trained in place of Brendan Gallagher (treatment day), the Quebecer will not be in training this evening. He’s really getting close to a return, that said, and we can wonder if he could play on Monday… or if we’ll take advantage of the few days off afterwards to really be sure that he’s 100%.
It is also possible that RHP passes through Laval to play a few fitness matches before returning with the big club. This is a possibility that should not be ruled out.
It will be one to watch, therefore, but this evening, it is Justin Barron who will make a return to the game. Let’s see if he can do well.
Prolongation
Note that for the Blue Jackets, Daniil Tarasov will be the starting goalie.
He is having a difficult start to the season, so CH will have the opportunity to score quite a few goals… unless they take advantage of their duel against the Canadian to relaunch their season, obviously.
