Time: 7:30 PM EST Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, PQ, Canada, H3B 5E8 / Carey Price is ready, but will Claude Julien let him roll?That is the burning question as the Montreal Canadiens prepare to host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Price, the Canadiens' top goaltender, has been out since Dec. 23 with an undisclosed lower-body injury. However, coach Julien was non-committal after practice on Wednesday." At this stage, what I'm being told (by the team's medical staff), worse comes to worse, he could always be a backup goaltender (Thursday)," a coy Julien told reporters. Price went 8-4-0 in December despite feeling the effects of an injury that he said he sustained several weeks before landing on injured reserve. Although Julien noted Price has participated in only one practice since his hiatus, the netminder indicated that he can play if called upon." If everything goes well (Thursday morning), I'd imagine playing," Price told reporters. "Obviously, it's nice to get some time off and get (the injury) settled down and start feeling normal again." A start should come quickly. The Canadiens returned goaltender Michael McNiven to Laval of the AHL on Wednesday. Also, Price said he would play for the Atlantic Division All-Star team after being selected on Wednesday. The Canadiens went 2-1-0 with backup Antti Niemi filling a starting role while Price was out. The Habs are enjoying a resurgence after being in the doldrums at this time in 2018. Montreal has won six of its past nine games, with the latest win coming New Year's Eve at Dallas. Julien's crew is in contention for a playoff spot after missing the postseason by a wide margin in 2017-18. Meanwhile, Canucks coach Travis Green also faces an interesting decision on his starting goaltender as Vancouver plays the second of back-to-back games. Green must decide whether to continue with hot starter Jacob Markstrom, who has nine wins in his past 10 games, including a 4-3 overtime victory over the Senators on Wednesday at Ottawa. The other option would be to rest Markstrom and go with newly acquired backup Mike McKenna. The Canucks acquired McKenna, a 35-year-old journeyman with limited NHL experience, on Wednesday in a multiplayer trade with Ottawa involving fringe players and a low draft pick. McKenna dressed as Vancouver's backup Wednesday after starting the day as a Senator. (Former Canucks No. 2 goaltender Anders Nilsson was on Ottawa's bench after also switching teams in the deal.)Since Vancouver was making a short trip from Montreal and McKenna is not destined to be with the Canucks long, Green could go back to Markstrom. However, the Canucks play in Toronto on Saturday and Markstrom is virtually certain to start that contest, so giving him a start against the Canadiens would mean he'd play three times in four days. McKenna, a St. Louis native, has now donned the jerseys of 21 different pro teams in three leagues. He will likely be moving to another one, Vancouver's AHL farm team in Utica, N. Y., relatively soon. Canucks general manager Jim Benning said on a conference call that the team will promote top goaltending prospect Thatcher Demko from Utica in the near future." We'll look at our options here the next couple days," Benning said, "but one of the things we wanted to do was to make room and get (Demko) up here and get him going (in the NHL)." Heading into the Thursday contest, the Canucks have won nine of their past 13 games. Julien could decide to start Price to help thwart the duo of Vancouver rookie center Elias Pettersson and sophomore winger Brock Boeser, who combined for five points against the Senators. Pettersson recorded a hat trick, including the winner in overtime, and Boeser provided two assists. The three-goal night, the first of Pettersson's career, came after the 20-year-old Swede was selected to the Pacific Division All-Star team earlier in the day. He now has 10 multi-point games in the first 37 contests of his NHL career." He's just getting better," Green told reporters.
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