Montreal Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw left Monday night’s game against the Dallas Stars in the first period with an upper-body injury. He did not return to the game. Shaw is not taking part in today’s practice, with the Canadiens preparing to face the Vancouver Canucks tomorrow night. Carey Price and David Schlemko, who are both on injured reserve, did take part in the session.
Therapy day for Phillip Danault. Andrew Shaw, who left the Dallas game after 2:09 with an upper-body injury, not on the ice. David Schlemko, who’s on IR, is practising. As is everyone else, including Carey Price.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 2, 2019
Claude Julien was asked about Andrew Shaw’s status. He responded that Shaw was still being evaluated. I asked if there’s concern he’s sustained another concussion. His response: “It’s an upper-body injury. You’re digging, aren’t you?”… Alas, ’tis what I do. I dig.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 2, 2019
Canadiens Andrew Shaw Injured
Shaw left Monday’s game in the first period after logging just over two minutes of ice-time. The feisty forward was enjoying a successful road trip with the team, putting up four points in six games of that span.
The severity of Shaw’s injury is currently unknown.
In 35 games this season, Shaw has scored 11 goals and added 13 assists for 24 points.
Over his career with the Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks, Shaw has scored 103 goals and added 107 assists for 210 points in 477 games.
Shaw was acquired by the Canadiens in a trade with the Blackhawks back in 2016. The Habs sent two second-round picks to the Blackhawks in return.
Shaw is a two-time Stanley Cup champion as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Bad News for the Habs
Losing Shaw for an extended period of time would be terrible news for the Canadiens. Shaw has been putting together quite the bounce back season after missing 31 games last season due to injury. Shaw has already surpassed his point total from last year in 15 fewer games. He has benefitted from the chemistry he found playing with Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin. Recently he has been playing with rookie centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Artturi Lehkonen.
If Shaw does, in fact, miss time, Joel Armia, who has been injured, will likely take his spot beside Kotkaniemi. Armia has also been practicing and seems close to a return. This would reunite the all-Finnish line that was playing well before Armia was hurt. Armia has been out since November 6th after he suffered a right knee injury in a game against the New York Rangers. His recovery period was expected to be 6-8 weeks and he is now practicing with the team. In 15 games this season, Armia has scored three goals and added four assists for seven points.
If Armia is not ready for a return, Charles Hudon could draw back into the lineup. Hudon has been in coach Claude Julien‘s doghouse it seems, so it would be a good opportunity for him to step back into the lineup and try to work his way back into Julien’s good books. In 23 games this season, Hudon has just three goals and one assist.
The Canadiens next game will be on Thursday night, where they will play host to the Vancouver Canucks.
Main Photo: MONTREAL, QC – APRIL 20: Montreal Canadiens center Andrew Shaw (65) skating away in control of the puck during the game 5 of the first round of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs between the New York Rangers versus the Montreal Canadiens on April 20, 2017, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
