The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenceman Cale Fleury is injured and will not play in tonight’s game against the St. Louis Blues.
One lineup change to report from St. Louis. Defenseman Cale Fleury is injured, so Christian Folin will play.
Carey Price starts in goal against the Blues.#GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 19, 2019
Cale Fleury Injured
The Canadiens also tweeted a comment from Claude Julien:
“It’s nothing major. Enough not for him to be comfortable to play. We’ll see about tomorrow. He’s day-to-day. I’d say doubtful (against Minnesota), but not automatically out. If anything, I think he should be good within the week at worst.”
There was no comment as to what exactly is the problem with Fleury.
Fleury has yet to register a point in his rookie season after playing in three games. He does have eight hits and seven blocked shots in those games, however. Fleury has been a healthy scratch four times already this season. If he doesn’t return to the lineup Sunday against the Minnesota Wild his next opportunity will come Thursday against the San Jose Sharks.
He was originally drafted by the Canadiens in the third round, 87th overall in the 2017 NHL draft. He spent last season with Montreal’s AHL affiliate the Laval Rocket, where he scored 23 points in 60 games.
Christian Folin
Christian Folin will replace Fluery in tonight’s game against the Blues. Folin has one assist in four games so far this season. He’s played in a career 232 games, scoring seven goals and 36 assists. His career Corsi For is 48.4 percent and his relative Corsi is -3.1. Folin hasn’t been able to dress regularly over his seven-year career. The most he’s played in one season is 65 games in 2017-2018 with the Los Angeles Kings. It’s not likely that Folin will challenge Fleury for ice time consistently, although if Fleury isn’t able to remain in the line up consistently himself, the Canadiens may look elsewhere for an upgrade.
Fleury is still only 20 years old. It may turn out that he needs additional time in the AHL to develop this season. Although after an excellent training camp, Fluery will likely be given a long look before any decisions to send him to Laval are made.
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