Montreal Canadiens Roster is Depleted with Injuries
The Montreal Canadiens have a severe case of the injury bug, and as a result, their active roster looks incredibly thin.
The Montreal Canadiens 4-3 overtime win vs the Dallas Stars, was costly, as two more Habs players will be listed on the injury report. Forwards Brendan Gallagher, and Paul Byron both left the game, and didn’t return with injuries.
Both Gallagher, and Byron have important role on the Canadiens roster. Brendan Gallagher was having a rough season in terms of offensive production, but Gallagher’s impact goes beyond stats.
Gallagher is on of the Canadiens primary leaders, and he shows it every game, by his relentless effort. Brendan constantly goes to the dirty areas on the ice, and this opens up opportunities for other players.
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Byron was enjoying his career best season, as he has scored 12 goals in 39 games this season. As a result, Byron has been used in many different roles for the Canadiens. Byron has spent time on the Canadiens top line, Power Play, and on the Penalty Killing unit.
Clearly, both of these players will be greatly missed, and hopefully they both make speedy recoveries. However, Head Coach Michel Therrien would later confirm the injuries after the game, and gave a status update on each player.
Roster Full of Injuries
When looking at the Canadiens depth chart, it’s clear to see that they’re running out of bodies. Forwards Alex Galchenyuk, David Desharnais, and Andrew Shaw are all currently injured, and have been missing for a few weeks. On Defense, the Habs are without Andrei Markov, and Greg Pateryn, and these players have also been gone for multiple weeks.
The issue with the latest injuries, is that the Canadiens will have nearly half of their AHL affiliate, the St Johns Ice Caps, roster playing for the Habs. This could mean that the Canadiens will have to put some younger players in vulnerable situations.
The Canadiens crumbled last season when key players were hurt, but this year they managed well. However, the Habs will need to start getting some bodies back soon, because the inexperience of the younger players will catch up to the team.
Price and Others Healthy
The injury situation could always be worse, and the Habs do have their MVP Goaltender Carey Price healthy. This was the biggest injury the Habs suffered last year, and was the biggest reason for their collapse.
Price has the ability to hide players mistakes with his strong play, and Carey has stolen countless games for the Canadiens throughout the years. The Habs will need to lean on Carey Price heavily, until some of the injured players can return.
Another positive is that Habs still have some other core guys they can lean as well. Defensemen Shea Weber, and Jeff Petry will continue to play a ton of minutes. Also, Forwards Alexander Radulov and Max Pacioretty have both been on fire lately, and the Habs need these guys to keep on producing.
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Final Thoughts
The Canadiens will have a tough road in front of them, but they are still sitting in first place in the Atlantic Division standings. In a few weeks, the Habs will hopefully have all of these injured players return to their lineup. The Habs will be right in the home stretch of the season, and will be looking to lock down a playoff spot.