The Montreal Canadiens announced on Saturday that defenceman Jon Merrill is injured. The defenceman will be sidelined for one to two weeks. The team did not disclose the nature of the injury. Reporter Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports was first with the news.
Jon Merrill is out for the next 7 to 14 days. @CanadiensMTL
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) May 29, 2021
Habs Defenceman Jon Merrill Injured
Merrill was apparently injured during the Canadiens 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 5 of their first round series on Thursday. However, it is unclear what play led to the injury at this time. Head coach Dominic Ducharme confirmed that the injury will keep Merrill out for one to two weeks, and that Brett Kulak will replace him for the must-win Game 6 of the Series.
Merrill was acquired by the Canadiens in a trade deadline move with the Detroit Red Wings. He played thirteen regular-season games with the Habs, but failed to score a point. He was a -11, and put four penalty minutes. Averaging 14:18 of ice time per game, his possession numbers were 50.2 percent Corsi-for and a relative Corsi of -3.5.
Merill has played in all five games in this series, averaging 13:42 of ice time. He has not scored a point or taken a penalty and is a -1.
Over his eight-year NHL career, Merrill has played for the Canadiens, Red Wings, Vegas Golden Knights and New Jersey Devils. He has 12 goals and 54 assists for 66 career points in 405 career NHL games. He was originally drafted by the Devils in the second round, 38th overall in the 2010 NHL draft.
What This Means for Game 6
Kulak played the first four games of the series before being replaced by Erik Gustafsson in Game 5. He brings less of a physical game, but a better skating and puck-moving game than Merrill.
In Game 5, the Canadiens heavily sheltered both Merrill and Gustafsson, not playing the two as a pair, but occasionally putting them on the ice with one of their top four defencemen when another defender needed a break. The same strategy might be employed with Kulak and Gustafsson in Game 6.
Main Photo:
MONTREAL, QC – MAY 25: Goaltender Carey Price #31 makes a stick save near teammate Jon Merrill #28 of the Montreal Canadiens and Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period in Game Four of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on May 25, 2021, in Montreal, Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
