Joe Veleno is back in the Canadiens’ team for Game 3 tonight against Carolina, while Oliver Kapanen will sit this one out in the press area. Coach Martin St-Louis made this choice since the series is tied at one win each, and the game will start at the Bell Centre.
This morning, Kapanen practiced extra on the ice with Arber Xhekaj, Brendan Gallagher, Patrik Laine, Samuel Montembeault, and Jacob Fowler.
Having extra practice is usually not a good sign for a young player trying to keep their spot on the team. Veleno had already left the rink, which says a lot.
The statistics tell the story. Kapanen has no points and a -2 score in seven playoff games after a solid season with 22 goals.
Veleno hasn’t exactly been a strong option either. He has one assist in six playoff games and a -1 rating during that time.
So why has there been a switch? St-Louis wants a tougher team in the bottom line-up against a Carolina team that physically challenged Montreal in Game 2.
Carolina’s strong play forced a change in the bottom-six players at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens made it to Round 3 after a tough seven-game series against Buffalo. They won Game 1 against Carolina with a score of 6-2 but lost Game 2 in a close overtime match, 3-2.
Veleno has only scored one game-winning goal in his 61 regular-season games, but he is good at stopping the other team’s penalties and winning face-offs. Tonight, those skills are more important than scoring.
Carolina relies heavily on their forechecking strategies. If the bottom six players can’t get out of their defensive zone for the whole shift, the series can quickly turn against them. That’s the problem St-Louis is working on.
Kapanen, who is 22 and has a salary of $925,000, isn’t done for the entire round. He’s being asked to sit back, gather his thoughts, and wait for the next chance to play.
And Alex Newhook has been a shining star that everyone seems to overlook. Scoring seven goals in 16 playoff matches shows who’s really boosting the supporting offense at this time.
The Bell Centre will be energetic when the game starts. With the advantage of playing at home again, the Canadiens need to make sure they don’t fall behind in this series before their Game 4 on Wednesday.
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