The Canadiens have suffered a setback just two games into the season, announcing Monday that Kirby Dach<\/a> is out long-term. Dach was hit near the bench by former Canadien Jarred Tinordi<\/a> in Saturday’s home opener, a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. He left the game in the first period and did not return. The team’s spokesperson referred to his injury as “significant” and indicated that his absence will be long-term, promising more information in the coming days. However:<\/p>\n Initial word I’m receiving on Canadiens’ Kirby Dach is he has a torn ACL+torn MCL in his knee. There are more tests being done, and we’ll wait for Habs to officially confirm once they’re received all the info, but this puts Dach’s season at risk if it ends up being the case.<\/p>\n \u2014 Eric Engels (@EricEngels) October 16, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n It’s a brutal loss for the Canadiens, who struggled in all facets of the game last season, while leading the league in man-games missed. Dach himself missed 24 games with two separate injuries in the 2022-23 campaign. He scored 14 goals and added 24 assists after coming to Montreal from Chicago via trade in the summer of 2022. Dach had notched two assists in his four periods of action so far this season. Head coach Martin St-Louis thinks highly of the 22-year-old forward, made clear by his comments reported in the Montreal Gazette<\/a>:<\/p>\n “He competes. He brings a physical aspect to the game. Not into running around and hitting guys, but into winning a lot of pucks back. He\u2019s a guy that wins a lot of pucks, and battles, and steals pucks, and obviously, you know, great in transition. He possesses, he\u2019s got a very elite brain.”<\/p>\n Also praising Dach was teammate Brendan Gallagher<\/a>, telling the Gazette, “There\u2019s just nothing you can do about that… We play a physical, contact sport. We\u2019re going to (be) missing a really good hockey player. It\u2019s a tough loss.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
Lineup Changes<\/h3>\n