ryan remiorz the canadian press
Tomas Tatar, Brendan Gallagher and Jordan Weal
The Canadian was heading on Sunday night in the bubble of Toronto, where he will play a tough game on Tuesday against the Maple Leafs. It will go back to the collar after a break of more than four months caused by the pandemic COVID-19 — her last match had ended in a defeat of 4-2 against the Predators in Nashville on march 10, there are moons.
But before facing the Leafs, the captain Shea Weber and his teammates have been preparing for a trip to Toronto, which could vary from two weeks to two months — if they manage to sneak up in the final series of the Stanley Cup.
“It’s a good thing that we have a laundry service, said Weber, laughing at a video conference. I took a few clothes; in fact, I added, because we do not know how long our journey will last. […] But one thing is certain, don’t expect a lot of surprises at the level of our dress code. “
The Blue-white-red will in the next few days to a few training sessions to put the final touches to his preparation for his series of qualification, in the best of five games, against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The first duel will take place next Saturday, the 1st of August, and Julien indicated that he did not so much with the fact that while the world views the Canadian as underdog in this series.
“We’ll be honest, realistic, and we will say that the team we’re playing has a lot more experience and depth than us, he mentioned. Just think of a guy like [Patrick] Marleau, who is on a third trio, not to mention [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin. It doesn’t mean that you can’t win. I think we have confidence in our group and if we follow our game plan, we use our speed and our execution, so I think that we can succeed. “
“I have no problem with it [the role of overlooked],” said Weber. This is a situation we have already lived, and we should not be offended. You know, it’s the playoffs and every year, surprises arise. A team unexpectedly knows a launched, a guard is on fire, the players remain healthy and you never know what can happen. “
Julien will build on its pillars of
The Canadian account on a full complement of staff in anticipation of the knock-out tournament of the NHL.
On Sunday evening, the Habs announced the formation of 31 players. The attacker Laurent Dauphin and defenceman Josh Brook, who took part in the training camp in Brossard, however, were not selected to participate in phase 4 of the recovery activities.
The club has not made a decision on the identity of the guard who was going to support Carey Price. The CH has chosen to keep in the bubble the three guardians, substitutes, or Charlie Lindgren, Cayden Primeau and Michael McNiven.
The team of Julian may, however, rely on its pillars as usual.
The attacker Max Domi took the decision to be part of the adventure of the CH, after having thought long and hard about the question because of his health — he suffers from diabetes, as Weber and the guardian star Price. Indeed, Julien has not dried up praise for Weber at the conclusion of the camp on Saturday.
“It is a good leader, not only on the rink. He believes in certain things that adhere well to the objectives of the team, so it is certain that it facilitates the task of everyone. In the end, the whole team, the support staff, the medical staff, I think that the whole world has embarked on this situation with an open mind “, he mentioned.
In addition, contrary to fears about the pandemic COVID-19 that had been expressed at the beginning of the camp, the damage was relatively minimal in the Blue-white-red.
Only the defenders Xavier Ouellet and Brett Kulak have received a positive diagnosis for the coronavirus. After having complied with the mandatory quarantine and recovered, they came to the camp and started to train with their team-mates.
Although the young defender Alexander Romanov is among the list of 31 players in attendance at Toronto, the latter will participate in the exercises and activities off the ice, but will not be allowed to play in the matches, as the club had indicated a few days ago.
Weber praises Crosby
On the side of the Penguins, the situation is similar. Nine players have been removed from the camp for several days last week, since they would have been in contact — at one time or another — with someone who may have contracted the COVID-19. Among them was the veteran Patric Hornqvist and, after several rounds of tests, they have all got the green light to join in training last Monday.
The case of Crosby has also raised questions, after he absented himself from the camp of the Penguins during six days. The media in Pittsburgh have believed to an injury, and not to the COVID-19, but the captain of the Penguins was back to training on Friday.
The no. 87 of the Penguins took part in a part of the game simulated, Saturday, after having skated in alone on an adjacent ice for nearly an hour. He has tweaked his shot on the receipt at the same time. Weber recognised that his teammates and him will have to have it to the eye.
“It is always very well prepared. He is always ready to jump on the ice, and I don’t think people realize how he is constantly trying to improve his game. He is the best player in the league for a very long time, but he always wants to improve “, a summary Weber, who has evolved with Crosby on Team Canada, among others.
The table is therefore set for a few weeks frenzied. An atmosphere which will obviously with this time of year that is usually reserved for rest and healing among the players of the circuit Bettman, after a long battle for the conquest of the Stanley cup.
