Alex Tuch ready to get physical against Canadiens

The 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound forward delivered a crowd-pleasing hit in the series-clinching Game 6 victory over Colorado last week and expects to play a heavy game against Montreal in the Stanley Cup semifinals.

“I know that during this series we’re going to have to be physical on some of their skill guys,” Tuch said after Monday’s morning skate. “If I have to go out there and try to get a hit like that or just be physical in general, I think I’m going to try to do so this round.”

The Canadiens’ top scoring line features Tyler Toffoli (6-0, 198 pounds), Nick Suzuki (5-11, 208) and Cole Caufield (5-7, 162). Wingers Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron are each listed at 5-9, and Artturi Lehkonen goes 5-11 and 178 pounds.

Tuch unloaded on Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon behind the net with about eight minutes remaining in the second period and sent the MVP finalist cartwheeling to the ice.

The heavy hit helped ignite the Knights, who went ahead less than three minutes later on Keegan Kolesar’s tip-in goal. Alex Pietrangelo put the Knights in front to stay during the final 20 seconds of the period.

“I kind of let anger run through my veins a little bit during that hit, I guess you could say,” Tuch said. “I try to make an impact as much as possible in every way that I can. I hope it pumped up the team a little bit.”

Weather report

The temperature is expected to climb above 110 degrees this week, and as commissioner Gary Bettman noted in Lake Tahoe, sunshine is the NHL’s enemy.

That heat won’t help the ice surface at T-Mobile Arena, where a fast track most likely would favor the Knights. It also has an effect on rest and recovery between games on Tuesday.

“I think on these off days, you have to stay hydrated,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “A lot of it is just staying out of the sun. Getting a little bit of vitamin D, but we can’t have guys coming in with sunburns. Got to be careful.”

Habs’ health

Defenseman Jeff Petry took part in Montreal’s morning skate wearing a noncontact jersey, as did defenseman Jon Merrill and forward Jake Evans. It was the second straight day Evans practiced after he was injured in Game 1 of the second round.

Petry was hurt during Game 3 on June 6 when he appeared to get his hand caught in a camera hole in the glass. He was second on the team with 42 points (12 goals, 30 assists) in 55 games during the regular season and averaged almost 24 minutes of ice time in the playoffs.

“The last few days we said that we were hopeful that early in the series they would be back. When? We don’t know,” interim coach Dominique Ducharme said. “Every situation is different with them. We had some positive signs with them and hopefully we can count on them as soon as possible.”

Cross the border

Montreal is the first Canadian team to play in a game contested in the United States in 460 days.

The last time was when Ottawa visited Los Angeles in what was the final game of the 2019-20 regular season (March 11, 2020) before the pause because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.