Mike Matheson (injured) will not play tonight

Note that this morning, he and Brendan Gallagher had a day of treatments and did not practice. Normally, a veteran who skips a practice won’t necessarily miss a game afterwards.

But Matheson did.

This will be a big loss for the Canadiens, who play Matheson more than anyone else. He plays big minutes (especially short-handed) and dominates the rink.

On Sunday, he spent 4:48 straight on the ice without too much trouble. Is this sequence at the heart of his injury? Who knows.

I imagine Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson will be eating up the club’s big minutes tonight. Alexandre Carrier will also play an important role. If Kaiden Guhle were healthy, that would be the case too.

The other three (Adam Engstrom, Arber Xhekaj, and Jayden Struble) will have to do well, of course. The coach is going to count on them… and Mike Matheson’s one-game injury changes everything on the blue line.

That’s why it was important to sign Mike Matheson for the long term. It’s when he’s not around that you realize (even more) how important he is to the Montreal team.

So let’s see how the Habs do tonight.

extension

Remember that Jacob Fowler will be in net tonight. It’ll be a big challenge for the young man, who knows he has to perform to keep his place in the sun.

Do you think he’ll be any good? I think so— and that he’ll be carried away by the Bell Centre crowd.