BROSSARD – The Canadiens will have captain Max Pacioretty back in the lineup on Thursday night.
Pacioretty, who has been sidelined since suffering left tibia plateau fractures in early July while training in Florida, will make his preseason debut when the Habs play host to the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre in their penultimate exhibition game of the year.
“It’s important for me [to play], I think, to get my speed and my timing back. It’s a bit of a process, but I think it speeds it up if I’m able to get into a game,” offered Pacioretty, who has spent the last three months rehabbing his injury in hopes of being ready for the season-opener on October 7 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.