Canadiens move Alex Galchenyuk to centre, shift Lars Eller to wing

BROSSARD, QUE. - When the Montreal Canadiens Jersey announced that Alex Galchenyuk will play centre this season, most assumed David Desharnais would be the one moved to left wing.

Not so. It was Lars Eller, the team's dependable third line pivot who has been a centre for nearly all his five seasons in Montreal, who was bumped to the wing on what coach Michel Therrien hopes will be a strong second line with Galchenyuk and new right-winger Alex Semin.

For the 26-year-old Dane, it must have felt like a promotion and a setback at the same time.

"I'm not going to go into what my feelings were at the time," Eller said Thursday. "All I'm going to say is I'm excited to be in this position and I think it can be really good.

"I've played wing before. The majority of time I've played centre but it's not unfamiliar territory for me."

The line that has been lighting it up in training camp scrimmages was scheduled to see its first pre-season action Thursday night against Washington.

Five NHL teams best suited for 3-on-3 overtime

Three-on-three overtime is coming to the NHL in 2015-16, and with it a host of adjustments for coaches and players alike. Along with those adjustments, if all goes according to plan, will come more goals and a reduction in the number of games decided by the shootout. But which teams are best poised to take advantage of the shift?

Coaching is difficult to assess in advance, but is obviously going to be a big part of the equation. The St. Louis Blues recently put out part of a fascinating discussion between their coaches analyzing three-on-three hockey. Among the issues addressed were the difficulties of making the long change with that much open ice, the benefits of communication between players and specific plays that the team could use in those situations.max pacioretty jersey.

Personnel is still going to matter, though, and some teams will start off better equipped regardless of how their coaches handle three-on-three.

Goaltending is always vital in a hockey game, but three-on-three should command a specific skillset. The ability to move the puck will be an incredible asset in three-on-three, particularly as it will make opposition line changes difficult. Additionally, goaltenders who fare strongly when facing odd-man rushes—in a lot of cases, the same goalies who do well in the shootout—will probably have an advantage over counterparts who are weaker in those areas.

Speed is going to be at a premium in three-on-three play. It will be vital to have strong skaters who can exploit all the open ice, but it’s going to be at least as important to have players who can get off the ice in a hurry; there’s simply no room for anything less than lightning-fast changes in this overtime format. This may prove even more vital on defence than at forward.

Preseason Game #3 GDT: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens

After beating the Ottawa Senators in both games last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be icing a very young squad in game three of the preseason against the Montreal Canadiens Jersey tonight (7:30 pm, TSN4).

Game 1 and Game 2 were fun to watch after a long layoff from hockey consisting of months of front office news. It’s always nice to see and talk about players playing actual games.

The team is going through a reformation process with regards to systems play and defensive accountability, and you could see signs of it with both teams yesterday. While pre-season hockey is sloppy and full of flubbed passes and broken play, the determination both squads played with has to remain a constant. Relying on opportunistic offense to offset indifferent defensive play has been a failing tradition of the Maple Leafs over the past three seasons.

The Maple Leafs will be debuting young players Mitch Marner and Nikita Soshnikov tonight while Frederik Gauthier enters the action for the first time this preseason.

Parenteau makes strong impression as Leafs down Senators

TORONTO — Newcomers Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Nick Spaling wasted no time making a strong first impression on new Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock.

Parenteau scored twice and Spaling had a goal as the Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Monday night at Air Canada Centre in the Toronto half of split-squad action to open the pre-season.

"The guys were excited to make the first good impression, and I think it showed," Parenteau said. "I think I felt pretty comfortable out there tonight. I think most of the team did."

Bought out by the Montreal Canadiens Jersey and signed to a US$1.5-million, one-year contract by the Leafs, Parenteau scored two power-play goals. Babcock said Parenteau "was hungry and had the puck lots."

Spaling, part of the trade that sent all-star Phil Kessel to the Pittsburgh Penguins, had a strong showing by scoring a goal in the first and drawing a penalty in the second.

Michael Grabner, the speedy winger the Leafs acquired last week in a five-for-one trade with the New York Islanders, assisted on Spaling’s goal.

"(New players) definitely they made their presence felt," top-line winger James van Riemsdyk said.

Connor Brown, a former teammate of Connor McDavid’s with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters, played well in Kessel’s old spot on the first line alongside van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. Defenceman Stuart Percy also scored a late goal for the Leafs.

Babcock saw a lot of good things but criticized the Leafs for being "reckless" with the puck and trying to make too many cute plays when they’re not there.

"We had lots and lots of things we’ve got to fix," he said.

Since every Leafs player is new to Babcock, even core players were under the microscope. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced in making a strong start to what Babcock characterized as an open competition with James Reimer.

Former Canadiens forward Todd Ewan dead at 49

Todd Ewen, a member of the Stanley Cup winning 1993 line-up of the Montreal Canadiens Jersey, has died. He was 49 years old.

CTV Calgary reports Saint Louis police have described the death as a suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Ewen broke into the NHL starting with the Saint Louis Blues. He spent 11 seasons in the NHL, playing for the Blues, the Ducks and the San Jose Sharks. He’s best remembered as an enforcer, and was also a member of the Habs when they won the cup back in 1993.

He finished his NHL career after the 96-97 season. During his time in the professional league, he amassed a total of 1,911 penalty minutes.

He is the latest NHL enforcer to die at a relatively early age. Former Calgary Flames defenseman Steve Montador was found dead in his home last February.  And in 2011 three former enforcers were found dead, all from unnatural causes, within a four-month period.

Questions have since been raised as to whether they may have suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition neurologists believe may have lead to the deaths of several NFL players.

Habs Camp: Eller Plays LW With Galchenyuk at C

Habs Camp: Eller Plays LW With Galchenyuk at C, What Does It Mean for Desharnais?

There are moments when you start to believe some people have altered course in a significant way. For the Habs, this is one of them. To be fair, this is a very early time of the camp and pre-season and anything can happen. But, it seems that changes to the forward line combinations are abound with a major impact on how the line combinations will wind up when the season opens.

With the likely aim being to keep Tomas Plekanec playing between Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher, the Habs have united what could be their second line heading into the season as follows: