Montreal Canadiens Receive More Bad News On Injury Front

If the Montreal Canadiens did not have bad injury luck, they’d have no luck at all.

The team lost a pair of players prior to Thursday night’s matchup versus the New York Rangers, as both Jordan Harris and Christian Dvorak were added to the increasingly growing injury list, which includes more than a dozen names.

Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis recently discussed the frustrating situation, which has left him handcuffed throughout the season.

The team gave medical updates regarding a fraction of the players on the injured reserve, and for the most part, it was par for the course.

In other words, nothing encouraging.

Kirby Dach, who was originally held out of the lineup for flu-like symptoms, is not expected back in the lineup any time soon. His injury has progressed to a relatively serious health situation, resulting in the 21-year-old forward absence from the lineup since Feb.14.

Seeing as he’s listed as being out indefinitely and there’s a little over a month left in the regular-season schedule, fans should not hold their breath for Dach’s return this season.

MEDICAL UPDATES: 

Kirby Dach (lower body) will be out indefinitely. 

Brendan Gallagher (lower body) will be out for 3 to 4 weeks. 

Arber Xhekaj (shoulder) underwent surgery on March 1. A full recovery is expected and he should be ready for the start of training camp.

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 10, 2023

Arber Xhekaj, who had to leave the game following a fight against Oilers defenceman Vincent Desharnais, underwent successful shoulder surgery. The surgery was undertaken by the same surgeon who previously worked on Cole Caufield and Josh Anderson.

The recovery period is usually four to six months, which means the fiery defenceman should be ready to attend the start of the 2023-24 training camp.

Xhekaj’s injury was a tale of caution for the team. He’s certainly one of the toughest players in the league, but he probably shouldn’t be counted upon to fight as often as he did during his short rookie season.

And finally, Brendan Gallagher has not been ruled out of the remaining schedule, however, his three to four-week recovery period leaves few opportunities for the 28-year-old to return to the ice.

Given his long history of returning to action prematurely and the injury woes this season, the Canadiens would be wise to err on the side of caution if there’s any doubt as to Gallagher’s health status.

The Canadiens’ depleted lineup is currently missing Christian Dvorak, Jordan Harris, Justin Barron, Joel Armia, Dach, Gallagher, Jake Evans, Xhekaj, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield, Sean Monahan, Carey Price and Paul Byron.