Jesperi Kotkaniemi is a healthy scratch Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets in order to rest, Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien told reporters pregame.
"You see the fatigue in his game," Julien said. "So, having been through a long season, for an 18-year-old (this is) totally normal. We need to win hockey games here, we need to try and put our best lineup together, and hopefully giving him some rest will give him an opportunity to finish strong here in the next few games coming up."
It's the third time this month that Kotkaniemi has served as a healthy scratch.
He has chipped in 34 points in 76 games, but has no goals with just two assists in his last 11 contests.
Saturday night's game is crucial for the Canadiens as they continue to pursue the Blue Jackets. Columbus currently occupies the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot with the same point total as Montreal but with a game in hand.
Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.