Canadiens, Blues set to face off minus key roster pieces
The first half of the season gave the Montreal Canadiens' organizational depth a severe test. The Canadiens passed it, overcoming myriad injuries to earn 50 points in their first 40 games.
"You're not going to go through this season with 23 guys," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "You're probably 30 deep, and that's for every team in the league ... and if you're 30 deep, it's good, because it could be way worse than that."
The Canadiens may face more lineup shuffling when they continue their seven-game road trip Saturday afternoon against the St. Louis Blues.
Key defenseman Mike Matheson missed Montreal's 7-5 victory at Carolina on Thursday night with an upper-body injury but practiced on Friday. Forward Josh Anderson exited the game against the Hurricanes with an undisclosed injury.
The Canadiens were already playing without defenseman Kaiden Guhle and forwards Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and Jake Evans due to their long-term injuries.
Adam Engstrom replaced Matheson in the lineup against the Hurricanes. Arber Xhekaj stepped up with six hits and a blocked shot as the Canadiens earned their first victory in Carolina since April 7, 2016.
"I felt good," Xhekaj said. "When your best defender goes down, you have to step up. There's no excuses. You can't be sitting here after the game saying, 'Oh, Mike (Matheson) wasn't playing.' It's, 'Mike's not playing and it's time to go, it's time to step up.'
"Your team needs you to step up, and it doesn't matter how young you are, how many games you have."
The Blues won the previous meeting 4-3 on Dec. 7 in Montreal. Captain Brayden Schenn led the way with two goals and an assist, and Dylan Holloway added a goal and two assists.
St. Louis heads into the rematch without three injured forwards who played in that contest: Holloway, Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad.
The Blues snapped a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Friday afternoon.
"New year, new us," winger Alexey Toropchenko told the FanDuel Sports Network.
The depleted Blues got a much-needed lift from their fourth line, with Toropchenko and Oskar Sundqvist scoring goals by driving the net. They combined with linemate Mathieu Joseph to produce six points.
Coach Jim Montgomery had challenged the Blues to play with more grit after they took an ugly 6-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Wednesday.
"The main thing tonight we talked about was just having a response," Schenn said after scoring the winning goal vs. the Golden Knights with 1:33 to play. "We felt we got embarrassed last game, and you have to respond with at least a good effort. They're a good team over there, Vegas, with a lot of high-end talent. I thought we did a good job."
The fourth line led the way with a rare offensive outburst. Toropchenko and Sundqvist each had a goal and an assist, and Joseph notched two assists.
"(We) just worked hard, played hard, play with heart, right, and just be good everywhere, try to be your best when you step on the ice," Toropchenko said. "Make everything you do for the team to win."