Eric Staal to center third line in Canadiens debut vs. Oilers
By Zac Wassink
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Last updated 4/5/21
Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme confirmed on Friday that Eric Staal would make his team debut Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers after the veteran center joined the club via a March 26 trade from the Buffalo Sabres and completed the mandatory seven-day quarantine.
Per Dan Rosen of the NHL's official website, it's expected Staal will center the third line with Jonathan Drouin and Tyler Toffoli and also see time in power-play situations versus Edmonton.
Staal skated with teammates for the first time on Sunday after finishing his required isolation period and repeatedly testing negative for COVID-19. "I had some slight nerves for sure, that's just the reality of the coming into a new situation, especially midstream, but they were great," he said of the experience. "Everybody's been phenomenal. This is an incredible organization and hockey market and I'm just excited to try to integrate and be myself and enjoy the experience. And enjoy the experience but enjoy it in a competitive way and be excited for challenges and opportunities ahead and bring what I can to help. But it's been nothing but positive so far and hopefully it just continues."