The Montreal Canadiens were given the day off Sunday following a poor performance in their home opener on Saturday. Monday's practice saw a very different lineup.
Head coach Michel Therrien moved Rene Bourque up to the second line during Saturday's game and liked the jump he gave Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta, so he decided to keep that line intact at practice.
Alex Galchenyuk, who has been at left wing since joining the Habs, has been given the opportunity to practice at center, his natural position.
The most interesting thing about Therrien's line juggling was Lars Eller getting demoted. Eller was practicing on a fifth line with Michael Blunden and Travis Moen filling at left wing during practice drills.
Therrien would not say if this was the lineup he was planning to go with Tuesday against the Florida Panthers but if he does, it looks like Eller and Blunden will be watching this game from the press box.
Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Erik Cole weren't able to pick up where they left off last season; the Habs top line unable to get anything going on Saturday against the Leafs. Pacioretty admitted that he was not happy with his performance and knows he needs to elevate his game. Therrien isn't worried about his top line however, saying he knows they'll bounce back.
Pacioretty - Desharnais - Cole
Bourque - Plekanec - Gionta
Prust - Galchenyuk - Gallagher
Moen - White - Armstrong
Moen - Eller - Blunden
Markov - Emelin
Gorges - Diaz/Weber
Bouillon - Kaberle
There were some changes made on the power play as well:
First unit: Pacioretty - Desharnais - Cole - Markov - Kaberle
Second unit: Bourque - Plekanec - Gionta - Bouillon/Gorges - Diaz
