The Montreal Canadiens have yet to play a game this season with all their key players healthy. It started with Oliver Kapanen going down in the final preseason game, and the injuries have continued to pile up since then. Ivan Demidov has not played since October 3rd due to a lower-body injury and has consistently been seen in a walking boot. Samuel Montembeault suffered a non-contact injury in practice right before he was supposed to make his first start of the season.
The Canadiens lost their leader, Nick Suzuki, in the team’s overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks, but have gone on a four-game winning streak since then. The newest injury is to veteran defenceman Mike Matheson, and he is reportedly set to miss time with a lower-body injury. While some injuries are fresh, others are nearing their return to the lineup.
Suzuki and Montembeault nearing returns
Kapanen has already returned to the lineup, and some of his teammates are getting closer to joining him. Suzuki appears to be next. Initially, it was thought he was going to miss two to four weeks after a puck hit his hand, but he is ahead of schedule. Suzuki will remain out of the lineup for the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Halloween, but should be back in the very near future.
Montembeault was initially expected to miss around two weeks, but he has now been upgraded to day-to-day. It is still unclear when he will make his return to the lineup, especially with how well Jacob Fowler has been playing, but it is positive that he is near a return to full health. Once he is ready, the Canadiens are going to have a decision to make about their goaltending rotation, but that is a conversation for when he returns.
Demidov and Matheson still sidelined
Demidov’s situation is a little less encouraging. He was expected to miss two to four weeks, but he has just recently shed the walking boot and has yet to return to practice. The four-week mark is November 3rd, and with Demidov yet to resume practicing and no update on his timeline, his absence from the team is likely to extend past the initial four-week estimate.
Matheson has been in and out of the Canadiens lineup over the last couple of weeks. He missed two weeks early in October, but returned to the lineup in the game against the Chicago Blackhawks. After playing in the first three games of the Canadiens' road trip, he missed the final game against the Dallas Stars. He is now expected to be out for the next two weeks with a lower-body injury. His latest injury is reportedly unrelated to the one that sidelined him earlier this month.
The Canadiens have managed to battle through injuries this season, and their recent success gives them little reason to rush players back into the lineup. They should prioritize getting fully healthy rather than risking further setbacks by bringing them back too soon.
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