Habs Daily: Reinbacher’s Return, Kapanen’s NHL Potential, Booing

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Friday.

Montreal Canadiens News

David Reinbacher was skating alongside Laval Rocket players, and he was wearing a regular jersey, which means he’s moved on from non-contact practice. There’s no guarantee he will return to play early, but if he does manage to cut some of his recovery time, patience is in order, just as it was for both Patrik Laine and Kirby Dach, two other players who dealt with significant injuries that impacted their mobility.  [Canadiens Injuries: David Reinbacher Approaching Return To Play]

Prospect Oliver Kapanen is enjoying a successful season in the SHL, which is a big step-up in quality compared to his time in Liiga. He’s nearing a point-per-game scoring pace, which is encouraging, but his prime minutes will be difficult to find in Montreal. All expectations as to his eventual impact in the NHL have to keep his current powerplay and top-line usage in mind.  [Canadiens Prospect Report: Oliver Kapanen’s Potential Impact]

The topic of booing anthems once again surfaced at the 4 Nations Faceoff tournament. I had written a rather long-winded post about the situation, and then erred on the side of caution by deleting it, because frankly, we don’t need more opinions on the matter.

But I will say this, if you aren’t bringing up the reason why the American anthem is being booed in the first place, you aren’t doing your job correctly.

Full marks to Cam Robinson, as he provided the necessary context while asking an important question.

Texting with an American player who asked to remain anonymous.

I asked how he felt about the US anthem being booed. “Don’t love it. Makes you kind of cringe to see that.”

I then asked what he thought of the continued threats of annexation and the President calling the…

— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) February 14, 2025

Jacob Fowler suffered a rare loss on Friday, as Boston College was taken down by a score of 3-2 by UMass Amherst. It’s notable, since the Eagles are the top-ranked team in the NCAA, while Mass-Amherst is ranked 16th. Fowler stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced, while his counterpart Michael Hrabal allowed just two goals on 39 shots.

Fowler comes up with a big time save to keep it level!

Watch on @ESPNPlus | https://t.co/5EevE3b7LB pic.twitter.com/txcvjPPpJ0

— BC Men’s Hockey (@BC_MHockey) February 15, 2025

Another day, another point from skilled forward Michael Hage. The Habs prospect helped set up the overtime goal for the Michigan Wolverines (12) as they upset follow prospect Luke Mittlestadt and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers (4).

Hage is now up to 12 goals and 19 assists in 28 games.

National Hockey Now Network

The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect pool is no longer the remnants of a shallow mud puddle. The Penguins’ recent trades and attention to the barren wasteland that was their near-league worst feeder system have elevated the quality of their potential, yet it bears looking at what could have been.[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Matthew Tkachuk got the best of four of his Florida Panthers teammates on Thursday night, scoring twice in the third to help Team USA beat Finland 6-1 in both teams’ opener of the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal. [Detroit Red Wings]

We’re not even 60 games into the regular season yet, and it feels like every Avalanche fan has aged about 10 years since October. [New Jersey Devils]