TORONTO — The Canadiens announced Friday morning that head coach Claude Julien would be heading back to Montreal later in the day to rest at home following the stenting of a coronary artery that was done at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto Thursday afternoon.
Doctors expect a full recovery.
Julien, 60, was rushed to the hospital by ambulance late Wednesday night, suffering from chest pains following the Canadiens’ 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
Game 2 is Friday afternoon at the Scotiabank Arena (3 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio). Associate coach Kirk Muller will take over the head-coaching duties during Julien’s absence, with help from assistants Dominique Ducharme and Luke Richardson.
The Canadiens noted that “Coach Julien would like to convey his most sincere thanks to everyone at St. Michael’s Hospital for the wonderful care he received during his stay. He also wishes to personally and sincerely thank everyone who has sent their well wishes during this time.”
Muller held a video conference Friday morning and opened up with a message about Julien.
“First off, on behalf of the coaching staff, management and players here in Toronto, to Claude and the family … we’re happy to hear the good news and we’re hoping for a quick recovery so we can see you back here,” Muller said.
“I spoke to him yesterday morning,” Muller added. “I sent him a text once we got the news. I told him: ‘Listen, most importantly is your health, get your rest and please get back to me when it’s appropriate for you, which he did. So initial contact was he was relieved. We talked about the overnight situation when he found out and everything. So that was the No. 1 thing.
“He just said we had already prepared the day before what we were going to do yesterday (at practice). We spoke again last night, he gave me a call, checked up. In his voice you could see some relief and see that he was doing well, which was awesome to see and hear. We talked hockey, we talked about today’s game. He was fired up. He quickly took away from talking about him and his situation and talked about the team, so that’s always a good sign.”
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