Lars Eller received just 5:46 of ice time Tuesday in Calgary, and he didn’t play at all in the third period, as his Montreal Canadiens were fortunate to escape with a 2-1 shootout win over the Flames.
Turns out, Eller’s benching was a sign of things to come. Tonight in Vancouver, he’ll reportedly be a healthy scratch, with coach Michel Therrien opting instead to use Brandon Prust as his third-line center.
Eller has just one goal and one assist in 10 games.
GM Marc Bergevin apparently took a few minutes to chat with the 25-year-old today, and perhaps the move to scratch him tonight is the club’s way of sending a message...
Michel Therrien has taken credit - actually, given himself credit - for setting Lars Eller straight by scratching him in the past. So...
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) October 30, 2014
Whether a message actually needed to be sent, well, at least one Canadiens blog doesn’t seem to think so.
Eller signed a four-year, $14 million contract extension in the summer.
