Chris Kreider left the Canadiens' win in Boston on Thursday night with a left knee injury, and Montreal still has no word on how serious it is.
It happened in the middle of the third period. Bruins forward Michael Eyssimont fell into Kreider's legs, and the winger's left knee appeared to bend inward. Kreider tried to hop off the ice, unable to put weight on that leg.
Head coach Martin St-Louis offered no update after the 5-2 win. The Canadiens are off today, so nothing is expected before the weekend.
Kreider had logged 9:08 when he went down. The 35-year-old has three goals and nine points in 19 games, modest numbers for a player with 351 career goals. His minutes were not heavy, but a veteran of that size and experience matters in a room.
The Canadiens can't ask for a better moment to be shorthanded, at least on paper. They're 12-3-4, they've gone 8-0-2 in their last 10, and in Boston the goals came from everywhere. Josh Anderson, Jake Evans, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach and Phillip Danault each scored once, and Evans got the winner.
Can the Canadiens absorb a Kreider absence?
A short one, yes. Scoring from five different players on the road tells you the lineup isn't leaning on one winger, and Jacob Fowler stopped 30 of 32 shots behind them.
A long absence is a different question. Montreal would have to find those minutes somewhere, and Florian Xhekaj, who has seven games this season, is the obvious name to watch. Kent Hughes already has plenty on his desk, with Samuel Montembeault's trade market still unsettled while the goalie sits on injured reserve.
The schedule doesn't leave much room to wait. Montreal hosts the Avalanche on Saturday, then opens a three-game road trip Monday at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers, the team that drafted Kreider 19th overall in 2009.
Whether he gets to face his old club depends on what St-Louis says in the next 24 hours. A lineup decision for Saturday is the first sign to watch.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
How long will Chris Kreider be out?
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