The Montreal Canadiens announce defencemen Victor Mete and Xavier Ouellet have returned to Montreal to be evaluated by team doctors. Mete was injured Tuesday night against Detroit, while Ouellet left Thursday nights game in Washington.
Claude Julien confirme que Mete et Ouellet sont retournés à Montréal pour être évalués par les médecins de l’équipe.
Claude Julien confirms that Mete and Ouellet have returned to Montreal to be evaluated by team doctors.#GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 21, 2020
Victor Mete and Xavier Ouellet Injured
Victor Mete was hurt after blocking a shot in the second period against the Detroit Red Wings. Mete missed Montreal’s game against the Washington Capitals with the injury. Habs head coach, Claude Julien, said Mete is doubtful for the rest of the week. Julien said Mete’s foot will be further evaluated. Initial x-rays in Detroit didn’t show a fracture but they are double-checking. This is Mete’s second injury of the season. Mete also missed time in late November after colliding with a Flyers player. He has also missed time due to an illness.
Ouellet’s injury occurred two minutes into the game against the Capitals. Ouellet was skating back to retrieve the puck and was hit into the boards by Garnet Hathaway. He finished his shift but did not return to the game. After the game, it was reported that Oullet suffered a concussion.
Xavier Ouellet suffered a concussion on his first shift
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) February 21, 2020
Ouellet has split his time this season between the Laval Rocket in the AHL and Montreal. He is the captain in Laval, and has nine goals, 15 assists for 24 points in 39 games with the Rocket. He was called up to Montreal on February 6th after the injury to Shea Weber. Xavier Ouellet has played six games for Montreal this season and has one assist.
Going Forward
Xavier Ouellet has been playing well in his six games since his call up from Laval. He is averaging 14:47 minutes a night and has a corsi for percentage of 52.4. Mete has played in 51 of Montreal’s 62 games this year. He has four goals, seven assists for 11 points with a corsi for percentage of 53.3. He also averages 16:00 minutes per game Mete is currently on a 17-game scoreless streak.
With two defenceman out, Montreal will have to get some help from Laval. Mete’s injury doesn’t seem serious as of now but the team will still need some cover. The timetable for Ouellet is unknown. Despite these injuries on the backend, Montreal will likely call up more help from Laval for help rather than look to make a trade.
