Another day, another bad news which invites itself in the house of the Canadian.
This time the bad news is about Tyler Toffoli. The forward, the club’s leading scorer last season, will have to miss at least the next eight weeks of play, having undergone one-handed surgery on Wednesday.
Toffoli, who has 17 points in 26 games this season, played his last game on Dec. 4 in Nashville.
His name is added to the already very long list of injured Canadians, where, as of Saturday, we can identify no less than 11 names, including those of Sami Niku and Brendan Gallagher, who remain on the COVID protocol -19.
The only injured player who is no longer injured is forward Joel Armia, who should be able to play Saturday night in St. Louis against the Blues.
The situation is so dire for the Canadian that for the moment, the club is preparing to face the Blues with a first line which will be composed of Mike Hoffman, Nick Suzuki and… Artturi Lehkonen. At least the Canadian can count on the element of surprise.
The Blues also have some problems in the health department, including three players who end up on the COVID-19 protocol, including goaltender Jordan Binnington. Everything indicates that the goalkeeper of the Blues tonight will be none other than Charlie Lindgren, of course a former member of the Canadiens organization.
“The Blues have good defenders who are able to play a style of play that is physical,” said coach Dominique Ducharme. It will be a challenge… ”
Note that we must also add another name to the list of injured for the Canadiens, that of the striker Jake Evans, who will not be in the Montreal training on Saturday night. He suffered an injury during the first period of Thursday’s game at the Bell Center.