When the puck drops for Leafs-Habs in Montreal on Saturday, Simon Benoit may find himself in a familiar place — the Bell Centre bleachers.
Toronto head coach Craig Berube told reporters after morning skate that the big defenceman would be a healthy scratch for the game in his hometown.
"Benny's done a good job for us this year. I like Benny and we love Benny. Like, he's a physical guy that does a great job in our own zone, killing penalties. It's just decisions that we make as coaches sometimes, and they're hard decisions," Berube said, per The Hockey News.
It's the second time in four games that Benoit, a native of Laval, Que., has been left off the active roster in Montreal, having also sat out a game on March 9 under then-coach Sheldon Keefe.
Benoit has tallied four assists, 28 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating in 43 contests on the season.
He'll be replaced in the lineup by Conor Timmins, who draws in on the third pairing with Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Meanwhile, heavyweight forward Ryan Reaves will return to the lineup in place of Connor Dewar on the fourth line.
"It's a big game. Montreal. It's a big rivalry, obviously. They got some physical players over there, so we've got to be physical tonight... We got to play a heavy game," Berube said.
Reaves has yet to fight this season. The 37-year-old has two assists and 23 penalty minutes in 28 games.
Dewar fought Philadelphia's Joel Farabee in his lone tilt of the season on Jan. 7. He has three assists in 28 contests, but weighs in — at 192 pounds — about 30 pounds lighter than Reaves.
Recent AHL call-up Fraser Minten will join Benoit and Dewar in the press box.
5:27
6:55
3:23
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.