Mike Matheson was not on the ice for warmups tonight, and Adam Engstrom was out there in his place as the Canadiens get ready for the Avalanche.
That points to a last-minute switch on the Montreal blue line. The Canadiens haven't said why Matheson stayed off the ice, and the team hasn't made an official lineup announcement on the change.
Matheson is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, according to the latest injury report. That's the only detail on his status at the moment.
If he can't go, it's a real loss for a defense that has leaned on him. The 32-year-old has 5 points in 9 games this season, including 4 assists, and he logs big minutes for Martin St-Louis.
Engstrom is the obvious next man in. The 22-year-old Swede, a third-round pick of Montreal in 2022, has 2 points in 12 games and a +6 rating, which is the best mark you could ask for from a young depth defenseman.
He has 27 career NHL games, so this isn't a total unknown for the Canadiens. But stepping into a top-four role against a team like Colorado is a different test than the minutes he's been given so far.
Is another Canadiens injury brewing?
It's a fair worry, because Matheson isn't the only name on the list. We recently noted that Chris Kreider didn't finish the Canadiens' win in Boston on Thursday night, and Montreal still hasn't explained what happened to him.
Two possible absences at once would test the depth of a team that has been rolling. The Canadiens are 12-3-4 and won their last game 5-2 in Boston, and they've gone 8-0-2 over their last 10.
A scratch this late is also a strange way to handle a minor issue. Teams usually hold a player out of warmups only when they want to see how he feels, so we could still get a surprise before the puck drops.
Still, Engstrom taking warmups is a strong signal about who is dressing. If Matheson is out, a young defenseman gets a shot against Colorado on a Saturday night, and Montreal will have to say more about both injuries after the game.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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