Montreal Canadiens injury update: All players stay in Montreal

The Montreal Canadiens are back on the road after a successful holiday trip and a single game at the Bell Centre. The Habs will face the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, and the Minnesota Wild on Thursday before returning to Montreal to host the Rangers on Saturday.

And after, none of the team’s six injured regular players are making the trip, meaning they will all miss at least two more games.

Indications are that Alex Galchenyuk, Andrei Markov and Andrew Shaw are all nearing a return to action soon, and all are skating. David Desharnais is slightly further behind in his rehabilitation but is still expected to be back to the Canadiens’ lineup this winter.

Greg Pateryn is halfway through what was initially diagnosed as an eight-week absence, while Brendan Gallagher is at the beginning of his two month hiatus with a broken hand.

It has to be said that the Canadiens have done reasonably well, and surpassed expectations with so many replacement players in the lineup. Through injuries and lineup changes, Michel Therrien’s squad has continued to win more than they lose, and maintain their grip on the Atlantic division lead.

Winnipeg has a couple of injuries of its own, most notably the recent concussion to rookie sensation Patrik Laine, and they’re also missing Marko Dano and Tyler Myers. The Minnesota Wild are healthy and hot, having won all but three of their last 17 games. The only player not available to the Wild is depth defenceman and former Canadiens blue-liner Victor Bartley.