Canadiens: 5 Things to Watch For in the Second Half of the Season

Injuries

It sucks always talking about injuries, but with the Canadiens, it’s just par for the course, unfortunately. But what makes this particularly intriguing right now relates to the Canadiens' current spot in the standings. Just beyond the midway point of the season, the Canadiens are still in the thick of the playoff race. But they still have a lot of work to do to make up some ground.

If they cannot, and things start to get out of hand, I would start to wonder how many players begin to miss time with injuries. If you remember, last year, after it was announced Cole Caufield would miss the remainder of the season with a. shoulder injury, the fact the Canadiens were already out of the playoff race factored into the decision to have surgery at that point.

Caufield said he could have played through it if the Canadiens were in the playoffs, but it wasn’t in the cards. I can’t help but wonder how many guys may be playing through injuries that could ultimately need surgery or more lengthy recovery times that may not be available to them at the current juncture.

Ideally, that isn’t the case, but with such a physical sport and the Canadiens current luck on the injury front, I’d wager that at least a couple guys are pushing through something. Perhaps the Canadiens stay in the hunt long enough that we won’t know for sure. Still, it’s something to follow.