Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Habs’ Emelin (knee) done for year after Lucic hit

Emelin

The Alexei Emelin-Milan Lucic collision from Saturday’s Montreal-Boston game has turned out to be extremely costly for the Canadiens.

On Monday, the club announced that Emelin suffered a torn ligament in his left knee on the hit, an injury that will force him to miss the remainder of the season.

Here’s the hit in question:

Emelin initiated contact and was originally thought to have suffered a Charley-horse on the play.

Obviously, the injury is much more significant than that.

The loss will be a big one for Montreal, as the Russian blueliner was in the midst of a solid campaign.

He scored 3G-9A-12PTS in 38 games while averaging close to 20 minutes per night, leading the Habs in hits (110) and sitting third in blocked shots (47).

Emelin’s injury also further depletes the Canadiens’ defense. Raphael Diaz is on injured reserve with a concussion and the club only just got Yannick Weber back from a knee injury.

The move could force Tomas Kaberle, who has been a repeat healthy scratch this year, back into action, or the Habs could lean on one of their youngsters -- 20-year-olds Jarred Tinordi/Nathan Beaulieu, or 22-year-old Greg Pateryn.