Matt Duchene and Bobby Ryan of the Ottawa Senators suffered injuries during Thursday’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens. Both players left after their injuries occurred and did not return to the game. Ottawa fell to Montreal, 5-2.

While a full diagnosis and prognosis of the injuries has not yet been given, head coach Guy Boucher indicated that both injuries could be long-term.

Boucher says injuries to Matt Duchene and Bobby Ryan “could be” long term. “We’ll know in the next days,” he said. #senators

— Don Brennan (@SunDoniB) December 7, 2018

Senators Matt Duchene and Bobby Ryan Injured

Bobby Ryan was the first of the two to be injured. Ryan collided with the shoulder of Canadiens’ Brett Kulak during the first period. The two players were reaching for the puck when Ryans’ head met Kulak’s shoulder hard in the neutral zone. He exited the ice with an upper-body injury and did not return.

Forward Duchene was wounded shortly after in the middle of the second period. His injury occurred as he was skating full force down the ice in an attempt to beat an icing call. No contact was made with any Habs player. Afterward, Duchene limped to the bench. He left the game with a lower-body injury.

What it Means

Ryan notched six goals and 12 assists for 18 points in 28 games played this season. He also has 10 minutes in penalties. Ryan’s possession numbers are 40.2 percent Corsi-For and a -3.5 relative Corsi. After hand injuries have caused him to miss significant lengths of time in recent years, being sidelined for any amount of time is less than desirable for the veteran forward.

Duchene currently leads the Senators in scoring with 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points in 28 games. Duchene’s has a 44.2 percent Corsi-For, and a +1.8 relative Corsi. He is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, though reports have indicated that the Senators and his agent are negotiating a new deal.  The Sens and Duchene will need him to come back healthy, in order to earn a new contract and to give the Sens value at the trade deadline if the parties are unable to come to an agreement.

Main Photo: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – NOVEMBER 10: Matt Duchene #95 of Ottawa Senators enters the ice for warmup ahead of the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series match between Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche at Ericsson Globe on November 10, 2017, in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images)