The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenceman Kaiden Guhle will miss the team’s game Saturday afternoon against the Washington Capitals with a lower-body injury.
Kaiden Guhle ne jouera pas demain soir (bas du corps).
Kaiden Guhle will not play tomorrow (lower-body).
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 30, 2022
Guhle had missed practice on Friday morning with what the team called a therapy day. It was always unlikely that the rookie defender would be able to play as he seemed to be in a lot of pain after getting tangled up with a Panthers player along the boards in Thursday night’s game.
And that’s likely the end of Kaiden Guhle’s night as his leg and knee bend awkwardly on a hit with Barkov pic.twitter.com/s6jwtcIBYn
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) December 30, 2022
The rookie defenceman has played in all 36 games this season and has two goals and 12 assists. He has been one of the more consistent players along the blue line this season. Chris Wideman will likely slot in for Guhle, alongside Joel Edmundson and the four remaining rookies: Arber Xhekaj, Justin Barron, Justin Harris, and Johnathan Kovacevic.
If Guhle is expected out any longer, the Canadiens can recall Mattias Norlinder, Corey Schueneman, or William Trudeau from the Laval Rocket, who are the remaining healthy players on NHL contracts in the American Hockey League.
After Saturday’s game, Montreal’s next game is in Nashville on January 3.
