Montreal Canadiens’ division rival gets awful injury news that could impact playoff race
The Montreal Canadiens have surged back up the standings after winning three straight to be tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning at 82 points, although the Lightning hold a slight edge with one game in hand. While Montreal is looking up, they can’t afford to not keep track of who is behind them, and right now that is the Detroit Red Wings.
Entering Thursday, the Red Wings are three points back and are set to play the aforementioned Lightning later today, while the Canadiens are off. However, the Red Wings are going to be missing a big part of their lineup tonight and beyond with Dylan Larkin being ruled out for two weeks.
The former first-round pick has been a big reason for the Red Wings’ success this season and why they are in a position to end a nine-season playoff drought. On the season, Larkin has 28 goals and 27 assists while averaging just over 20 minutes of ice time per game.
Larkin left the Red Wings’ last game against the Florida Panthers early due to a knee injury, and head coach Todd McLellan said that he, along with Andrew Coop, will be out at least two weeks.
Detroit Red Wings will be without Dylan Larkin in final regular season meeting with the Montreal Canadiens
As the regular season gets closer to an end, these games carry a lot more weight, and the Canadiens have a big one next week on the road against the Detroit Red Wings. It will be the third and final meeting between the two teams, with them splitting the first two games.
This season, the Canadiens have actually been pretty good on the road with an 18-7-8 record, and the Red Wings being without Larkin certainly will help their chances. In the two games earlier this season, Larkin had three points with two goals and an assist.
It is certainly going to be tough for the Red Wings to make up for the absence of Larkin but it is also a game that the Montreal Canadiens can’t take lightly. If they continue to win, they have a pretty good chance of holding onto that third spot in the Atlantic Division and set up a potential meeting with either the Buffalo Sabres or Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.
