Montreal Canadiens forward Tomas Tatar is out and will miss at least one game due to injury. He did not warm up or skate in the team’s recent game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Elliotte Friedman reported the absence just before the game started.
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Canadiens Tomas Tatar Out
Tatar has been one of the team’s best players again in 2020-21. The 30-year-old skater has 10 goals and 30 points in 46 games. that translates to a per-game rate of .65. That is not as good as the .90 posted in 2019-20, but it’s still very good. It is also worth noting that Tatar remains an excellent offensive driver with a 59.7 percent Corsi For and 7.5 relative Corsi. Montreal may only be fourth in the North Division this year, but Tatar has still done his best.
The Detroit Red Wings originally drafted the Czech forward in the second round of the 2009 Draft. Tatar skated for Detroit from 2010-11 before a trade sent him to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018 in exchange for several draft picks. Vegas trade him to Montreal later that year in exchange for Max Pacioretty. Overall, Tatar has 176 goals and 377 points in 621 games. That is currently the 12th-best among players from his class, ranking just ahead of Reilly Smith and Kyle Palmieri.
How Montreal Replaces Tatar
Tatar may only miss the one game, but it still creates more opportunity for star prospect Cole Caufield to skate with the top or middle-six. The former lottery pick did not score a point in his first game in 15:40 of action, but he did post four shots. Fans will surely want to see what the diminutive dynamo brings to the table for however long Tatar is out. Michael Frolik also moved into the starting lineup against Toronto and remains a deeper option for the roster. The team is certainly better with Tatar, but the team can handle a brief absence if necessary.
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