Canadiens Notes: More Serious Injuries, Primeau Might Start

Former Montreal Canadiens Athletic Therapist Graham Rynbend must have put on a wry smile in the last few days.

Not only has the team not improved its ability to keep players healthy, but the list of injured players is growing faster than it did in any previous season.

The Canadiens announced defenceman David Savard will be out of action indefinitely with an upper-body injury. Savard took part in the win against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, putting his body on the line to block a few shots during a penalty kill in the third period. In addition to losing his skate blade, Savard also lost his stick when a puck struck him in the hand.

It was the epitome of an epic shift for Savard, but unsurprisingly, it led to yet another Habs player heading to the infirmary.

That David Savard penalty kill shift deserves another look! 👏 pic.twitter.com/bA97hKXTkB

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 24, 2023

With Savard unavailable for an indeterminate amount of time, the Canadiens proceeded to re-call defenceman Gustav Lindstrom from the Laval Rocket. The call-up was made on an emergency basis.

Lindstrom looked pretty good at the Canadiens training camp and was among the last cuts on the blueline, but he has struggled to find his rhythm since arriving in Laval.

The call-up follows the same trend as before when the Habs decided to promote Joel Armia rather than Joshua Roy from the Laval Rocket. Simply put, they’re keeping their prospects in the minors rather than giving them a few shifts in the NHL, which allows them to maintain focus on their development in the AHL.

Injuries Galore

The injury list keeps growing.

Savard’s injury is just the latest in an unfortunate streak of terrible luck.

He joins Kaiden Guhle (day-to-day), Chris Wideman (injured reserve), Kirby Dach (IR), and Christian Dvorak on the injured list.

It’s a good reminder that despite all the criticism sent Rynbend’s way, injuries are very rarely caused by a lack of attention to detail from the medical teams.

The same can be said about the insults some fans lobbed toward Dr. David Mulder.

Not only is he one of the most respected doctors in the world, but it’s also quite clear that he was not the cause of the team’s injuries in the last two years.

Starter Versus New Jersey

We’ll have to wait for confirmation from head coach Martin St-Louis, but it appears that Cayden Primeau may be getting his first start of the season on Tuesday night versus the New Jersey Devils.

It’s not an easy start, but at the very least Primeau will have an opportunity to prove his worth behind a defensive squad that is relatively healthy from a Canadiens injury standpoint.

Interesting here this morning for the Canadiens as it's goalie Cayden Primeau who gets off the ice first from the optional morning skate.

Jake Allen, who played last night was not on the ice, could he go again?

Sam Montembeault remains out with the skaters.#NJDevils

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) October 24, 2023

The Montreal Canadiens will try to make it three wins in a row as they host the Devils at the Bell Centre. The puck drop is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET.