Kirby Dach out long-term with lower-body injury

While the Habs still don’t have full details of Kirby Dach’s injury, they do know it’s a significant one as they announced on Monday that it will not be a short-term recovery time.  Full details won’t be known until further testing is completed.  Based on what they’ve said so far, it’s safe to say that he will be eligible to go on LTIR.

Dach suffered the injury in the first period of Saturday’s victory over the Blackhawks when he was knocked into Chicago’s bench on a hit from Jarred Tinordi.  He briefly tried to test it out but it was evident quickly that he wasn’t going to be able to continue.

This is certainly a tough blow for both Dach and the Habs.  He had a career year last season despite missing 24 games due to injuries and was expected to play a significant role in Montreal’s top six again this year.  Instead, those plans are on hold indefinitely.

Last game, Montreal shifted Alex Newhook down the middle at times and that might be the best solution in the short term with Christian Dvorak out for at least a few more weeks due to his LTIR placement.  In the meantime, Michael Pezzetta should come into the lineup in Dach’s absence.  With only one game on the books between now and Saturday, they don’t need to worry about bringing someone up from Laval for the time being.