Mike Matheson is skating again in Brossard, and the Canadiens just learned how close they came to losing their veteran defenceman for six months.
TVA Sports insider Renaud Lavoie revealed Monday that the lower-body injury Matheson suffered October 10 against the Detroit Red Wings could have cost him half a season.
The wild part? He finished that game.
“The problem with this kind of injury is that you can go to the extreme,” Lavoie said. “Either it's not a serious injury, like it is now, or it can be very serious.”
Think of a smoke alarm going off at 3 a.m. You only find out it was burnt toast once your heart rate settles.
The exact nature of the injury still hasn't been disclosed. Montreal lists the 32-year-old as day-to-day heading into tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks.
Whether he dresses is another matter. Per Lavoie, the blue liner won't play until he's at least practised with his teammates.
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Canadiens keep winning ugly while the injury list piles up
Count the 1-0 shootout win over Detroit the night he went down, and Montreal has taken three of its last four. Not one of those wins came in regulation.
Lavoie sees breathing room. His message to the injured: “Come back when you're at 100 per cent, I don't want to hear about you at 90 or 95 per cent.”
Nice luxury. But living on shootouts and overtime is a bad long-term plan, and this team is already giving up 3.8 goals per game.
The standings don't lie either. Montreal sits seventh in the Atlantic at 4-3-1.
And Matheson wasn't exactly lighting it up before he got hurt. He had one assist and went minus-3 over five games, on a $6,000,000 cap hit.
Lane Hutson has carried the back end instead, with 8 points to lead all Montreal defencemen. Noah Dobson, at $9,500,000, is a -4 rating with two assists.
In the crease, Jacob Fowler owns a .900 save percentage and a shutout. Jakub Dobes sits at .842.
Help is coming there too, eventually. Samuel Montembeault's expected absence runs until at least October 20, which is today, and Lavoie would only say he'll return at some point.
Ivan Demidov is a longer wait. The 20-year-old was walking around in a boot on his right foot in recent days and isn't expected back before October 31.
The Sharks arrive on the second night of a back-to-back after a 3-1 loss in Toronto last night. That's a game Martin St-Louis's group should bank.
Then comes a four-game road trip through Chicago, Winnipeg, St. Louis and Dallas, all inside seven days.
That's where the patience gets tested. How many more coin flips can Montreal win before the pressure to bring Matheson back early gets loud?
Should the Canadiens keep Mike Matheson out until after the four-game road trip, even if the losses start piling up?
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