Green light for Deslauriers, milestone approaching for Price

BROSSARD - Anyone following Canadiens practice on Friday morning was greeted with some exciting, positive news when they saw the lines featured by head coach Claude Julien at the Bell Sports Complex: Nicolas Deslauriers was back on a regular trio.

The gritty 27-year-old has been out since the first game of the preseason against the New Jersey Devils, when he suffered a facial fracture.
And though Deslauriers wishes he could've been on the front lines to battle with his teammates, he admits that the Habs' winning ways have made him feel a bit better about watching from afar.
"For sure, in one way it's frustrating to not play games, but on the other hand, it's fun when you're hurt and the team is doing well," he r. "If it was just me deciding, I would've played the next game after my injury, but it was better for my health to sit out."

Julien would not confirm whether he'd insert Deslauriers back in the lineup on Saturday in Ottawa, but he did say that the 6-foot-1, 221-pounder had been given the green light from the team's medical staff, a development the Habs bench boss was pleased with given what he's seen from Deslauriers in Brossard's on-ice sessions.
"He's worked hard. I think he's practiced well. He seems to be in good shape. We want to make sure that everything is good in his case," explained Julien. "If the medical team thinks he's well enough to be taken off IR, we'll likely reactivate him."
If the news was good in Deslauriers' case, the same couldn't be said for 1,001-game veteran Tomas Plekanec. Julien said that the Czech centerman felt some back pain in Wednesday night's 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues and took a therapy day on Thursday in which he ended up undergoing an MRI.
"We were told this morning he's going to be more likely at least a couple of weeks before he can get better. From there, we'll see, it'll be day by day. He's going to be put on injured reserve today," described Julien. "It's too bad, he's played well. I know it's not the first time he's ever had back issues; most hockey players do. It's just the timing of it."

More history on the horizon for Price
Julien never had Carey Price in the lineup during his first stint in Montreal, but the coach was in the organization when the All-World netminder was drafted back in 2005. With Price just one win away from tying Patrick Roy for second all-time in wins on the Canadiens, Julien waxed nostalgic about the veteran goaltender's time in Montreal and what he had accomplished.
"It's nice to see that after all these years, you're still able to be around and see those guys accomplish these things when the first time you met them, they weren't even in the League. It's great. I think Carey has had a great career, and continues to," he said of Price, who holds a 288-202-63 record, 2.46 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in 562 career games. "These last two days in practice, he's been outstanding. Carey Price is still a great goaltender, and I'm sure this year, he's going to keep proving it. The fact that he's just about to tie Patrick Roy is quite the feat."
For his part, Brendan Gallagher considers himself lucky to have had Price as a teammate for the entirety of his career.
"He's a dominant player that other teams have to prepare for. With him, it's come to a point where you just expect brilliance every single night," praised the Habs' alternate captain. "He's been through some ups and downs, he's dealt with adversity, but he's handled it as well as anyone can. What he's meant to this team and organization is impressive. It's fun to be his teammate."
Price often says that he's not one to pay attention to numbers and stats, but the digits in his career wins column hold some personal significance for the 31-year-old backstop given where he's currently ranked.
"Definitely pretty cool. That's a statistic I can definitely be proud of. I've played with a lot of great hockey players and on a lot of good teams in my career. It helped me along the way to get here," recounted the 2014-15 winner of the Vezina and Hart trophies. "There are a lot of people in my life who have helped me get to this point, and I'm very grateful for all of them.

"It's what I dreamt of as a kid, being like Patrick," he concluded. "To make it this far in my career is definitely something that I'm proud of."