Canadiens bring in backup, recall Rocket forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard

St. Louis to see what Price means to Habs fans Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis says he has a sense of what Carey Price means to fans, but he expects to get that reinforced.

Forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard took part in the Montreal Canadiens' practice session at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard on Wednesday, a few hours after being recalled from the Laval Rocket, the Habs American Hockey League farm club.

His recall came a day after forward Paul Byron suffered a lower-body injury in a 2-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

The decision was also made because Joel Armia returned to Finland for family reasons, Michael Pezzetta received a two-game suspension and Jake Evans has a non-COVID-19 virus.

The arrival of Harvey-Pinard could give the slumping Canadiens' offence a bit of a boost. The Tricolore has yet to score in two starts since Carey Price's return to action. Montreal is currently running a 5-0 cumulative deficit over the past 120 minutes.

Harvey-Pinard, 23, leads the Rocket with 51 points and 32 assists in 64 games. His plus-28 rating also ties him for the Rocket lead with defenceman Tory Dello.

At practice on Wednesday, the Quebecer took reps in a lineup that included Mathieu Perreault and Laurent Dauphin. He has played in three games for the Tricolore this season, scoring one goal.

Harvey-Pinard was Montreal's seventh-round pick, 201st overall, in the 2019 NHL Draft.

The Habs will host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. They will be looking to end a dismal six-game losing streak after going 2-9-1 in their last 12 contests.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 20, 2022.