After dropping their third straight game New Year's Eve and losing another key player to injury, things are not looking good for the Montreal Canadiens' playoff hopes. As outlined by Eric Engels, who covers the team for Sportsnet, it won't be an easy task.
"Habs go to 2020 four points behind the Lightning, who are in third in the Atlantic with two games in-hand, and they're seven points back of the second wild-card (PHI) and have injuries to Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron, Joel Armia and Brendan Gallagher," said Engels on Twitter. "Uphill climb."
Gallagher left Tuesday night's game with an apparent concussion after hitting his head on the knee of teammate Ben Chiarot while falling to the ice after a hit. You can check that out below.
Gallagher currently sits second on the team in goals and points. While there has yet to be an update on his condition, any time lost for the scrappy little forward will be detrimental to the team. Drouin has been out since November after tearing a tendon in his wrist that required surgery. He had 15 points in 19 games before his injury and was playing some very good hockey. Armia has been week-to-week since December 23rd with an upper-body injury, while Byron has been out since mid-November after undergoing knee surgery.
Perhaps most concerning for the team is that goaltender Carey Price is playing average, at best. The team has relied on Price to steal games for them for several seasons now. He has not been doing that this year. Should the Habs miss the playoffs once again, it will be the third season in a row and will raise several questions about the team's direction going forward. Most questions will revolve around the position of GM and whether Marc Bergevin will keep the job.
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