{"id":5150,"date":"2017-01-08T10:05:24","date_gmt":"2017-01-08T15:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=5150"},"modified":"2017-01-09T07:35:05","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T12:35:05","slug":"montreal-canadiens-injuries-not-hurting-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/01\/08\/montreal-canadiens-injuries-not-hurting-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal Canadiens Injuries Not Hurting Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seven. That’s the magic number for the Montreal Canadiens. Seven Montreal Canadiens injuries. Seven players in their lineup who started the season in the AHL with the St. John’s IceCaps. And yet, there are seven teams below them in the Atlantic Division standings. And unlike the 1995 film\u00a0Seven<\/em><\/a>, the Habs season is far from a horror nearly at the midway point.<\/p>\n

Montreal Canadiens Injuries Not Hurting Team<\/h2>\n

The Canadiens started losing players to injuries at a pretty astonishing rate in early December.\u00a0Alex Galchenyuk<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0David Desharnais<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>went down with knee injuries in games on December 4 and 6, respectively. Greg Pateryn<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>fractured his ankle while blocking a shot the same game in which Desharnais got hurt.\u00a0The following week,\u00a0a\u00a0collision with\u00a0Torey Krug<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>put\u00a0Andrew Shaw<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>out of action, and\u00a0Andrei Markov<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>received a lower-body injury two games later.<\/p>\n

By the Christmas break, the Canadiens had five players out, and two more joined them in last Wednesday’s game against the Dallas Stars.\u00a0Brendan Gallagher<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>will miss the next eight weeks<\/a> after a\u00a0Shea Weber<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>slap shot hit him in the hand. And finally,\u00a0Paul Byron<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is day-to-day after a thunderous\u00a0Patrick Sharp<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>hit.<\/p>\n

Valuable Players Out, But Still Score in Bunches<\/h3>\n

These injuries are to valuable players. They\u00a0have combined for 39 goals and 114 points,\u00a0and despite this, the Canadiens remain fourth in the league for scoring with 118 goals. Even though they have the ninth-best record of 8-3-3 over the past month, they still scored the third-most goals over that stretch with 48.<\/p>\n

Think that\u00a0Carey Price<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is carrying the team? The Habs aren’t even in the top-ten teams for least goals against per game in the past month. Price is\u00a06-2-3 with subpar .905 save percentage and 2.45 goals-against average\u00a0since December 8.<\/p>\n

When any team has seven players injured, many would say .500-level hockey is acceptable. The Canadiens are playing that with eight wins in the past 14 games, but that includes three overtime losses.<\/p>\n

Compared to last season when the injury bug hit, and the Habs went on a downward freefall, these Canadiens have depth and the ability to play as a team. There is a next-man-up philosophy to their depth, but their leaders continue to produce when they need.<\/p>\n

Pacioretty Playing Like a True Captain<\/h3>\n

The best player in the past month for the Montreal Canadiens is undoubtedly captain Max Pacioretty<\/a><\/strong>. After playing through November with a broken foot<\/a>, Pacioretty began December with only five goals and 15 points through 24 games. He broke out with a two-goal game against the LA Kings in early December. He scored four more against the\u00a0Colorado Avalanche a week later. He’s been on fire with 14 goals and 19 points in the last 16 games.<\/p>\n

The past three Habs wins have shown why they have been winning through injuries, their leader is stepping up. Against the Florida Panthers, Pacioretty tied the game in the second period, before assisting on the overtime goal. In their first game back from the New Years break, he scored another overtime goal on the road against the Nashville Predators. And against the Dallas Stars, already with Byron and Gallagher out, Pacioretty broke a tie to temporarily give the Habs a third-period lead, before notching his second overtime winner in as many nights.<\/p>\n

He also scored 20 seconds into Saturday night’s contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n

Jeff Petry<\/a><\/strong>, although he isn’t an alternate captain, has also stepped up big. Since Markov’s injury, Petry is playing 24 minutes per game. He has eight\u00a0points in the nine games since. He also has 12 points in the past 13 games, despite having 9\u00a0in his first 26\u00a0games.<\/p>\n

Shea Weber<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is also seeing a lot of ice time without Markov, skating for 26 minutes\/game. And after a slump in the first half of December, Weber also has eight\u00a0points in the past nine\u00a0games, including four\u00a0power-play points.<\/p>\n

Alexander Radulov<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>also went through a mini-slump in mid-December, but has bounced back. He’s riding a six-game point streak in which he has four\u00a0goals and four\u00a0assists. He should be getting more top-line minutes with four\u00a0top-six forwards out, so he needs to continue his hot play.<\/p>\n

Reinforcements Coming<\/h3>\n

Galchenyuk and Markov practised with the team Friday<\/a> and could be returning next week. Both Byron and Shaw are listed as day-to-day<\/a>, so their returns could also happen soon.<\/p>\n

These injuries also mean young players like\u00a0Michael McCarron<\/a>, Nikita Scherbak<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Sven Andrighetto<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>get the chance to prove their worth.<\/p>\n

Lots of Positives<\/h3>\n

The Canadiens haven’t been playing their best hockey, but they are getting the job done. With seven Montreal Canadiens injuries, it’s hard to play the way they were in October when they went 8-0-1. But 8-3-3 is good for a team who couldn’t find wins with injuries last season, so there are a lot of positives.<\/p>\n

Even with seven Montreal Canadiens injuries, there are seven teams below them in the Atlantic Division standings. Not too bad after all.<\/p>\n

Main Photo.<\/p>\n

\n
Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n