The Montreal Canadiens have announced on twitter that star first line center Alex Galchenyuk will be out indefinitely with a lower body injury.
Medical update: Alex Galchenyuk underwent testing in St. Louis on Monday and will be out indefinitely. DETAILS: https://t.co/O2QZOw6tyt pic.twitter.com/e2g74Gukkj
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 5, 2016
Alex Galchenyuk Out Indefinitely
Galchenyuk suffered the injury Sunday, in a 5-3 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings. He will receive further testing by team doctors upon returning to Montreal.
This injury comes a blow to the Canadiens who are in the middle of a great start to the season as well as to Galchenyuk himself. Galchunyuk was in the midst of a star making season, having recorded 23 points in 25 game so far leading the Canadiens and putting him in 11th in the NHL.
Galchenyuk had been playing between Paul Byron and Alex Radulov, though was between Max Pacioretty and Radulov on Sunday. He had been posting stellar adjusted possession numbers between 55.55 and 56.22 CF%. And this has mostly been done without large amounts of ice time and on a team that overall has yet to show elite possession metrics.
One of many
Galchenyuk’s injury is just the next in a growing list of big name players who have missed time this season. A list including names like Taylor Hall, Steven Stamkos, Johnny Gaudreau, Jach Eichel and many more. The Canadiens will hope that Galchenyuk’s injury will be more like Gaudreau who only missed 10 games than Stamkos who will miss the next 4 months.
With both Tomas Plekanec and David Desharnais struggling this season, the injury leaves the Canadiens quite weak down the middle of the ice. If the injury is long term, the Canadiens may be forced into addressing the issue with a trade. They could also try Radulov at centre, a position he played at times in the KHL.
Main Photo: MONTREAL, QC – NOVEMBER 08: Alex Galchenyuk #27 of the Montreal Canadiens skates during the NHL game against the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre on November 8, 2016 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
