MONTREAL — Newcomers Mike Cammalleri and Scott Gomez set the bar high with a goal each in the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. On Friday Brian Gionta will try to do the same.
“They played well and hopefully we can have the same effort,” said Brian Gionta who will don the Canadiens’ jersey for the first time on Friday when Montreal takes on the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Center. Gionta, who will play with Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty, isn’t putting too much pressure on himself.
“I just want to feel good about the way I’m playing. It’s the first game so, I’ll get the rust out. It was a long summer. I just want to have fun and enjoy it. It was a fun experience last night watching the excitement for a preseason game so I’m looking forward to it,” Gionta added.
The former New Jersey Devil, who signed a five-year, US$20 million deal during the summer will unquestionably be the focal point for the fans, but not his head coach. Jacques Martin is anxious to see what centerman Tomas Plekanec will do after struggling last season.
“You look at his performance two years ago, he was outstanding. I firmly believe he’ll get back to playing that kind of hockey. It’s not all about statistics,” Martin said. “He’s dependable, he’s reliable, he does a good job in all three zones. He’s a kid that listens well. He’s very coachable.”
Here are tonight’s lines:
Forwards:
Pacioretty-Plekanec-Gionta
Russell-Metropolit-Neilson
Moen-Maxwell-Glumac
Conboy-Pyatt-Wyman
Defence:
Mara-Weber
Henry-Carle
Belle-Gill
In net:
Halak
Sanford
Note:
-F Georges Laraque missed practice with a lower body injury. It is not believed to be serious.
-D Roman Hamrlik also skipped practice because of the flu.
