Montreal Canadiens left-winger Artturi Lehkonen collided with Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Rasmus Sandin in Game 3 of their first-round series. Lehkonen left the game and the team announced he will not return.
Artturi Lehkonen ne reviendra pas au jeu ce soir.
Artturi Lehkonen won’t return to the game tonight.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) May 24, 2021
Artturi Lehkonen Doesn’t Return
In the first period, Lehkonen and Sandin were both reaching for the puck at Montreal’s blueline. Lehkonen reached in as Sandin skated forward and Lehkonen’s head hits Sandin’s shoulder. Lehkonen left and didn’t return. Here is the video.
Tough collision between Sandin and Lehkonen here pic.twitter.com/pTtvszn9lK
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) May 24, 2021
In 47 regular-season games this year, Lehkonen has seven goals, six assists for 13 points. He also has a Corsi For percentage of 52.7 at even-strength. His 13:25 average time on ice is the lowest during his five-year NHL career. Last season he scored 27 points in 70 games and played 15:26 minutes a night.
Montreal drafted the Lehkonen 55th overall in the 2013 draft. The 25-year-old Finnish player has played 338 games, scoring 61 goals, 59 assists for 120 points and 90 penalty minutes. He has eight points in 18 career playoff games, including scoring four points in 10 games last year.
What This Means for the Canadiens
If Lehkonen misses game time, he joins forwards Jake Evans and Eric Staal to miss games during this series. Montreal battled many injuries during the final month of the season as they had to cram in games because they missed a week in March due to a COVID outbreak on the team. Dealing with injuries is nothing new to them. If Lehkonen, Staal and Evans can’t play in Game 4, Michael Frolik will be the next man up. Frolik is a veteran of 858 games and 47 playoff games. He’s played eight games with Montreal this year, spending most of the year on the taxi squad. However, he’s a veteran who should be able to jump in easily to Montreal’s lineup.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
