St-Louis absent at Centre Bell, Caroline Du Nord awaits Canadiens
Martin St-Louis was absent from the Canadiens' morning practice at the Centre Bell on Thursday, the day before Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes in Caroline Du Nord. Kent Hughes said the head coach would be back at his post the next day and would rejoin the team that evening.
Centre Bell before departure
The Canadiens practiced in the morning before leaving for the airport, and Trevor Letowski led the session in St-Louis’s absence. Hughes said there was nothing serious, which kept the focus on the opening game Thursday night in Carolina rather than on a longer coaching absence.
The timing still matters for Montreal. The Canadiens reached the Eastern Conference final after eliminating the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 in overtime on Monday night, and they arrived with a short turnaround into a series that begins after 11 days for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Montreal's heavier playoff load
Since April 26, the Canadiens had played 11 games. The Hurricanes had played four games in that same period, while the Golden Knights of Vegas had played nine and the Colorado Avalanche had played six. That gap puts Montreal into the series after a far busier stretch than Carolina.
Alexandre Carrier said the Canadiens are the youngest team in the league, with an average age of 25,8 ans, and said the club was in good shape physically. His comments pointed to a group leaning on energy after two seven-game series.
Suzuki and Caufield on Carolina
Nick Suzuki said the Canadiens would need to trust their speed and aggressiveness against Jacob Slavin, and that Montreal would need more production at five-on-five. Cole Caufield said the Canadiens had beaten the Hurricanes in all three regular-season games, but he expected a much harder series in the playoffs.
That is the practical edge going into Carolina: Montreal has to carry a short-rest schedule into a series against a team that finished its second-round sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers and entered with 24-10 playoff scoring before the final began. St-Louis is expected back quickly, and the Canadiens will need that stability immediately once puck drop arrives Thursday night.
