Canadiens’ Oliver Kapanen scratched for Game 3; Joe Veleno in
The Montreal Canadiens are making a change to their lineup ahead of Monday’s pivotal Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis revealed to the media on Monday that forward Oliver Kapanen will come out of the lineup, and forward Joe Veleno will take his place.
It's been confirmed that Oliver Kapanen will not play tonight for the Habs by head coach Martin St. Louis. (h/t @FriedgeHNIC)
Kapanen, 22, faced plenty of heat after his failed attempt at a dump in led to a quick Hurricanes counter attack and Nikolaj Ehlers’ overtime winner in Saturday’s Game 2.
Kapanen doesn’t get the puck in deep. Matheson and Dobson both heading for a change anticipating the chip into the Canes zone. Leads to all that open ice for Ehlers to walk in. Defensive breakdowns away from their own zone cost the #GoHabsGo in OT.
St. Louis said that the lineup change is not merely because of Kapanen’s critical turnover, but because Veleno’s game can help counter what Carolina is bringing to the table.
“Kappy is going to be out tonight and it’s not necessarily for that,” St. Louis said, referring to Kapanen’s Game 2 overtime turnover. “We feel like Carolina brings a lot of heaviness and speed and I feel like Joey can give us that.”
Kapanen has played in seven of the Canadiens’ 16 games so far this postseason, going pointless with a -2 plus/minus rating while averaging just under eight and a half minutes of ice time. The Swedish national played in all 82 of Montreal’s regular season games, notching 22 goals and 15 assists for 37 points.
Veleno, 26, has no goals and one assist in six of the Canadiens’ games these playoffs, while posting a -1 plus/minus pating and averaging just over nine and a half minutes of ice time. In 61 regular season games for Montreal this year, the Montreal native had two goals and three assists for five points.
Veleno also brings value as a center that can take faceoffs, as he won 51.6% of his draws over the regular season. If the Canadiens’ have a poor offensive showing on Monday, Kapanen’s goal-scoring prowess could find its way back into the lineup for Game 4.