In the first period of Thursday’s game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens defenceman Nathan Beaulieu blocked a cross-ice pass with his his hand, and immediately left the game.
Originally ruled out for the remainder of the game, after the contest the Habs announced that he was done for the season with a broken thumb, leaving the Canadiens with just five healthy defencemen.
The result was yet another emergency recall, this time for rookie AHL defender Brett Lernout.
#canadiens Nathan Beaulieu season is over because of a broken thumb. Brett Lernout is recall. #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) April 1, 2016
The former third-round pick in 2013 has 12 points in 69 games with the St. John’s IceCaps, racking up 73 penalty minutes over that span. As of now, the Canadiens are heading into Saturday’s game versus the Florida Panthers with three defencemen added via emergency recall, with another (Victor Bartley) himself out with a long-term injury.
Lernout has many tools, including a great skating stride and physicality. It will be interesting to see how he fits into the NHL lineup, if indeed he does get into the game on the weekend.
