Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Injury woes & depth issues, by Andrew Saadalla
December 8, 2016, 11:05 AM ET [332 Comments]
Habs Talk
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
By now, you’ve surely heard that the Montreal Canadiens will spend approximately the next two months without the services of centers Alex Galchenyuk (9G, 23PTS) and David Desharnais (3G, 9PTS) after both suffered knee injuries during the five-game road trip that concluded on Tuesday night in St. Louis against the Blues.






There is a silver lining, according to Eric Engels:






While there are countless articles available to readers regarding what the Habs should do next to address this issue, it’s hard to imagine the organization will necessarily try to sign replacements for both players. Despite their holding onto the first overall spot in the National Hockey League, centers are not only exceptionally hard to acquire but the order is a tall one in that management would be negotiating from a position of weakness. Other franchises will inflate the value of their assets knowing the Habs are desperate, so I believe it’s safe to say that a trade is not in the works. The issue with these injuries becomes more apparent when you take a look at the (virtually nonexistent) depth down the middle both within the Canadiens’ and St. John’s IceCaps’ rosters.

As it stands, Tomas Plekanec (four points in his last six games), Phillip Danault (pointless in his last 11), Andrew Shaw (eight points in his last 12 games), and Torrey Mitchell (pointless in his last 12) will have to carry the load and continue to improve their performances in order to keep the team afloat.

They might have to do without Danault, who is reportedly ill and is not practicing with the team:






The two main AHLers that could make the jump are Michael McCarron (3G, 11PTS) and Nikita Scherback (9G, 17PTS), although both are injured yet should be ready to return to game action shortly:





For now, the Habs have sent Charles Hudon (3GP, 2A) back to St. John’s for what I presume to be a conditioning stint and recalled Sven Andrighetto, who will need to showcase significantly more than he has in order to prove he belongs in the lineup for an extended period of time. He will not feature at the center position, and as the Habs hit the ice for practice in Brossard, I will continue to update this blog with the lines and defensive pairings.











Moreover, defenseman Mark Barberio has been sent down as Nathan Beaulieu appears ready to come back:










The Habs host the New Jersey Devils (12-7-6) tonight at the Bell Centre, as they’ll look to shut down former Canadiens star Michael Cammalleri who has five points in his last five games and an outstanding 14 in his last nine. As it stands, the Devils are three points away from the final Wild Card playoff position yet only seven points short of first place in the Eastern Conference, so expect a very hungry team to throw everything it has at head coach Michel Therrien’s troops.

Carey Price gets the nod, while Greg Pateryn is also missing from practice:










Finally, former enforcer John Scott officially announced his retirement yesterday and penned a great article in the Players’ Tribune that you can read below:







He also wrote a memoir, which you can order starting on December 27th:



Join the Discussion: » 332 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Habs Talk
» Update: Flames host Habs; hot streak stats, by Andrew Saadalla
» Habs' streak just the tip of the iceberg, by Andrew Saadalla
» Habs visit Canucks, make lineup changes by Andrew Saadalla
» Five consecutive wins and a bone to pick, by Andrew Saadalla
» Subban returns, and the Julien effect by Andrew Saadalla