Lines, defense pairings and updates - January 12
Jake Evans and Alexander Romanov were back at practice on Wednesday
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Here are the lines and defense pairings featured by head coach Dominique Ducharme:
Forward Jake Evans and defenseman Alexander Romanov were back at practice after joining the team in Boston.
The pair entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocol on January 1 while the team was in South Florida.
According to Ducharme, Evans and Romanov won't play tonight and aren't expected to dress on Thursday night in Chicago either as they continue to get back into game shape.
Ducharme also specified that Evans was sporting a no-contact jersey simply because he was skating alongside two injured players in Toffoli and Anderson.
The challenge is real
With five wins in their last six games, the Bruins are hot right now, which means Ducharme's troops must be on their toes early.
No doubt Bruce Cassidy's squad will be eager to pounce on a group that hasn't played since January 1 when the Habs ultimately paused their activities as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak.
It's safe to say that Ducharme's contingent is facing a difficult task tonight.
"The biggest challenge is to be able to be consistent, to be able to compete for 60 minutes, not only physically, but mentally. You get into that groove at one point when you play a lot and you play well and you have success, then you build momentum. We've been off for a while. We've been facing a lot of challenges since the beginning of the season. We haven't built that momentum," explained Ducharme. "But, having our guys refreshed mentally and physically, the biggest challenge is to be able to sustain the game for 60 minutes and be consistent doing everything that we want to do. We don't want to be cracking at one point."
Video: Dominique Ducharme's pregame press conference
Defenseman Chris Wideman, who hasn't played since December 11, relishes the chance to get right into the swing of things again with a back-to-back on road ice.
"This is the best way to do it, just get right into it with a back-to-back. We're playing a really good team tonight, and then it'll be a tough game tomorrow as well, so there really isn't an opportunity to dip your toe in the water. You just kind of jump right in. We're ready for it," insisted Wideman. "It's not something that is out of the ordinary for us. We're hockey players and we love to play the game. Practice time and time off is not something that we do well with."
Video: Chris Wideman on returning to the lineup
Wideman: 'I never had a chance to do that growing up'
During his post-practice media availability, Wideman shared that after his recent bout with COVID-19 was over, he hit the ice at an outdoor rink near his Montreal home.
The 32-year-old St. Louis, MO native appreciated everything about the experience.
Tweet from @CanadiensMTL: A kid told Chris Wideman: 'Hey, man, you're pretty good. Where do you play?' 😬#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/4CyLl9fvVn
"I never had a chance to do that growing up, so I think it's awesome. Driving through the city, you can kind of see the different parks have rinks and the city maintains them, which is even cooler. I think that's just unbelievable how lucky these kids are to have that. I did get out there the first day, and it was the first time I'd had my skates on in about 15 days, so I was excited to be out there," said Wideman. "I was out there maybe four or five minutes, and then a younger kid skated up to me and he was like 'Hey man, you're pretty good. Where do you play?' We had a good chuckle. It's just so fun, getting to work with some of the kids on shooting and passing. I think the first day I was out there for about an hour-and-a-half by myself and with some of the neighborhood kids. That's just something I really enjoyed, and I think more than anything, just having the chance to be in the community and interact with people who are true fans and kids that watch our games on TV and really enjoy hockey."
