Given that Montreal center Alex Galchenyuk’s already missed 18 games this season to a knee injury, there was some consternation on Monday as head coach Michel Therrien said Galchenyuk had aggravated the ailment, and would miss Tuesday’s game against Calgary.
Thankfully for the Habs, it doesn’t sound like a serious issue.
Therrien said Galchenyuk “slightly injured” his knee, and is listed as day-to-day. This falls in line with what occurred during Saturday’s OT loss to Buffalo -- even though Galchenyuk suffered the ailment during the game, he was able to play through it and finish with 16:36 TOI.
Therrien says they don't believe Galchenyuk came back from his knee injury too early. Just something that happened to same knee in the game.
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) January 23, 2017
It’s unfortunate this knee issue has lingered, as the fifth-year pro is having a great season. Galchenyuk has 11 goals and 27 points through 30 games and, had he been healthy, probably would’ve eclipsed last year’s production, when he scored 30 goals and 56 points.
Looking ahead, it’ll be interesting to see when the Habs opt to get Galchenyuk back in the lineup. After tomorrow’s game against Calgary, they have just one game left until the All-Star break, on Thursday in Brooklyn.
After that, they don’t play again until Jan. 31.