Early in Thursday’s game versus the Los Angeles Kings, Justin Barron took a hard hit into the boards behind his net and was slow skating to the bench.
Here’s the hit that sent Justin Barron to the room pic.twitter.com/cHMeVAEGit
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) March 3, 2023
We saw his left shoulder being worked on by the trainers, but he soon left for the dressing room. The Montreal Canadiens have announced he won’t return to the game.
Justin Barron ne reviendra pas au jeu ce soir (blessure au haut du corps).
Justin Barron will not return to tonight’s game (upper-body injury).
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 3, 2023
Montreal had seven defencemen in the lineup for the game as Joel Edmundson made his return after a one-month absence, so they will be able to finish the match with the normal complement of six.
It’s a tough development for Barron who has been playing well on a pairing with Mike Matheson. We’ll hope that it isn’t something that keeps yet another defenceman out of the lineup long-term at a time when he and the other young defencemen are getting important experience for next year.
Depending on how serious the injury is and what happens with Joel Edmundson before the trade deadline, the Canadiens may need to recall a defenceman from the Laval Rocket in the coming days. Corey Schueneman was recently with the team and will be the simplest option, but William Trudeau is also pushing for some time with the team.
