- Mike Matheson is out two weeks with a lower-body injury, putting his return around mid-November
- It’s his second lower-body issue this month, and he leads the NHL in shorthanded ice time per game
- Read below for the Montembeault and Suzuki updates
The Canadiens will be without Mike Matheson for a while.
The veteran defenseman is out two weeks with a lower-body injury, news that came out Saturday morning before Montreal hosted the Penguins. It’s the second lower-body issue he has dealt with this month.
Matheson sat out Thursday’s 5-2 win over the Dallas Stars, and the team said beforehand that he would be reevaluated once the club got back to Montreal. The two-week timeline is the result of that check. It points to a return around mid-November, which means he misses at least six games.
Here’s the news on our timeline:
The cause isn’t clear. Matheson played all of Tuesday’s 2-0 win over the Blues, including the final shift, and Montreal hasn’t said what happened. He missed four games earlier in the month with a different lower-body injury, and it’s believed this one is something new rather than a recurrence. That was the game where Jacob Fowler made 46 saves to blank St. Louis.
Matheson has one goal and three assists in eight games. He logs close to 24 minutes a night and leads the league in shorthanded ice time per game, so the penalty kill loses its anchor along with the top-pair minutes.
Adam Engstrom is in line for a bigger role unless the Canadiens recall someone from Laval. Montreal is also sitting at the 23-player roster limit, so another addition means Matheson would have to move to injured reserve. The one-week minimum wouldn’t get in the way of a mid-November return.
The injury list doesn’t stop there. Goalie Sam Montembeault is now listed day-to-day after the original 10 to 14 day timeline for his lower-body injury passed with no update, and he still hasn’t played this season. Fowler has been so good that a three-goalie situation looks likely once Montembeault is healthy.
There was one bright spot. Nick Suzuki was a full participant in the morning skate and looks ahead of schedule in his recovery from a hand injury. He wasn’t ready for Saturday, but he’s tracking toward the short end of the original two-to-four week timeline.
Montreal is 8-3-2, second in the Atlantic, and carrying a six-game point streak into the Penguins game. The Canadiens have won all four games without their captain.
