Habs star risks it all and steps onto the ice in flip flops before Game 6!

I think it is safe to say that the Montreal Canadiens are feeling extremely loose before what is undoubtedly the biggest game of the season for them thus far.

On Saturday night, the Canadiens will welcome the Buffalo Sabres to the Bell Centre for Game 6 of their second round Stanley Cup playoff series with the Canadiens getting their first chance to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final. You might imagine that this would result in a tremendous amount of pressure on the shoulders of the young Canadiens roster but, judging by the scenes at practice on Saturday morning, nothing could be further from the truth.

It was Canadiens forward Alex Newhook who gave the first signal that things were a little unusual when the 25 year old took a big risk before Game 6 and stepped out onto the ice in a pair of flip flops. Newhook appeared to be being very careful on the ice as he walked around in his flip flops, but I imagine that there were than a few nervous onlookers wondering about just how wise a decision this was before such a critical game.

Thankfully Newhook managed to make it through his little stunt without doing any harm to himself or anyone else.

It wasn't just Newhook out there feeling loose either with video emerging of Canadiens enforcer Arber Xhelaj making a little fun of his own during practice. During a passsing drill, Xhekaj was feeding his teammates pucks but was reserving some absolute heaters for teammate Zachary Bolduc. In the video below, you can see Xhekaj trying to play it off as if he has no idea what Bolduc is talking about, all the while looking very guilty.

Is this a good sign or a bad sign for the Canadiens ahead of Game 6? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.