Joel Armia will be back in the lineup tonight against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.
The Finnish striker will take Michael Pezzetta’s place and should play on the third line with Sean Monahan and Josh Anderson.
Armia, who played eight games for the Rocket this season, will be playing with the Canadiens for the second time. Martin St-Louis wants the forward to maintain his identity on the ice.
“He has a good shot, he protects the pucks when he needs to. He is physically fit, he wins his fights, I expect that,” said the head coach after the morning training. Watch his press conference above.
The Blue Jackets are currently in last place in the Eastern Conference with 16 points. Pascal Vincent’s men are also in a grueling spell, playing their third game in four days this evening.
Through it all, St-Louis refuses to take lightly the Jackets, who have the league’s second-best shorthanded efficiency rate at 89.2%.
“They’ve been playing really well lately. They’re not the kind of team that shoots themselves in the foot. They take advantage of their luck losing the ball and I imagine a hard-fought game.
As confirmed by St-Louis, Samuel Montembeault will be in net tonight.
For his part, Cayden Primeau returned to Montreal without his teammates as he will be the starting goalie on Thursday night against the Panthers.