There is never anything certain in this world, except maybe this: there will be injuries to the Canadian.
The Montreal club, which already had six of its players sidelined for the rest of its season, added three more names to this less and less selective list on Monday.
Thus, Sean Monahan, Juraj Slafkovsky and Alex Belzile will not be back this season. The three players will also have to give up on what remains of the calendar. The first two have been out of the game for a bit, and the third fell in action on Saturday night, after blocking a shot from Sebastian Aho at the Bell Center.
“I don’t know if anyone has a voodoo doll in their home…I’ve never seen that!” “, summed up goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault, not without humor.
We don’t have time to determine if supernatural forces may have been involved in the mysterious CH injury case, but in the meantime it’s easier to focus on the facts. Like the risk associated with blocked shots.
In the world of modern hockey, the importance of blocked shots is beyond doubt. But, coincidentally, according to the StatMuse website, the Canadiens rank second in this ranking in the NHL, their players having blocked an average of 17.27 shots per game this season. Only Vegas Golden Knights players blocked more shots, averaging 18.20 blocked shots per game.
“I suffered several injuries while blocking shots, admitted Brendan Gallagher Monday in Brossard. We get away with it most of the time. I firmly believe that blocked shots are part of a winning culture, it wins games. It’s part of a team’s identity, so it’s important. Injuries will happen, and unfortunately we’ve had a lot of them, but blocked shots are an important aspect of the game.
“Guys who block shots build a culture within a team, build a team spirit. It’s led to injuries for us this season, but it’s important in today’s hockey, and we can’t forget that. »
The veteran striker admits injuries can end up taking a toll on morale.
“It’s been a season like that… It’s been two seasons like that, actually. There’s a lot of bad luck in that. We’ve been through a lot this season, but the good news is that we know how to react to it all. Hopefully now we can stay healthy and bring everyone back eventually…”
But that won’t be for now, and it might not be for next season either; there are players without a contract, players who are going to leave, and the face of this team could be very different in September.
In the meantime, there is a season to finish, and five more games on the schedule, including Tuesday night at the Bell Center against the Detroit Red Wings.
“In hockey, when a club has to deal with injuries, we always say that it gives a chance to the next one, summed up Brendan Gallagher. But there, we are starting to run out of people…”
It was a training with reduced numbers for the Canadian, Monday in Brossard. Jake Evans, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Jake Allen and Alex Belzile were all missing, the latter being lost for the season. Martin St-Louis didn’t know who was going to be available or not for Tuesday night’s game. Only good news: Cole Caufield skated, but after everyone else, and alone.
The management of the Canadian had planned to offer a few games to Cayden Primeau at the end of the season. The Laval Rocket won’t play until Friday, so Primeau will be in net Tuesday night at the Bell Center against the Detroit Red Wings. The young goaltender has taken part in two games for the Canadiens this season, and got his only start of the season last week in Philadelphia, in a 3-2 loss to the Flyers.