MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens made a roster swap Saturday morning sending goalie Cayden Primeau to the Laval Rocket and recalling Charlie Lindgren for tonight's game against the Detroit Red Wings and possibly the Habs' upcoming western road trip.

Head coach Claude Julien has confirmed that Primeau will be the starting goaltender for the Rocket's duel against the Rochester Americans in the afternoon at Place Bell. He added that since there aren't two games in two nights in the next four-game trip before the Christmas break, Carey Price should get all of the starts. The first game is Tuesday in Vancouver.

 Primeau played two games with the Canadiens, including his first NHL victory on Thursday in a 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators. He has a goals-against average of 2.52 and a .931 save percentage. With the Rocket, he posted a 7-4-1 record with a shutout, a 2.58 GAA and a .910 save percentage.

Lindgren has not played a game in Montreal this season. With the Rocket, he is 7-6-2 in 16 games with a 2.67 GAA and a save percentage of .893. He has one shutout.

In addition, it appears that forward Paul Byron's return will have to wait until after Christmas. Byron, who took a heavy fall in training on Friday, will not be in the roster Saturday and will not accompany the team to the West.

Byron was injured Nov. 15 in a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. He underwent a knee operation four days later and his absence was estimated to be four weeks. Since being away, the Canadiens have slumped to a 4-6-3 record.

However, the news is better in the cases of Jesperi Kotkaniemi (concussion) and Victor Mete (ankle), who will be playing the four games in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2019.