10 players out (!) for the Panthers: The Habs can’t afford to lose tonight’s game

Marc-Olivier Cook
10 players out (!) for the Panthers: The Habs can’t afford to lose tonight’s game
Credit: Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images

The Canadiens are set to face off against the Florida Panthers, who are visiting the Bell Centre tonight.

Of course, we'll be keeping an eye on Cole Caufield and his quest for his 50th goal of the season.

But overall, the Habs can't afford to lose this game. A win could help Martin St-Louis's men close the gap on the Sabres and the Lightning in the Atlantic Division standings… and the Panthers are already out of the playoffs.

(Credit: Sportsnet)

But it doesn't stop there either.

The Canadiens MUST beat the Panthers, who will be in Montreal with an AHL team. The Florida squad is (more than) decimated by injuries right now.

All of these guys won't be playing tonight because they're injured:

  • Evan Rodrigues
  • Aaron Ekblad
  • Jonah Gadjovich
  • Sam Reinhart
  • Aleksander Brakov
  • Anton Lundell
  • Niko Mikkola
  • Ilvis Balinskis
  • Brad Marchand

Oh, and we can also add Matthew Tkachuk to the list of players who will be out.

He isn't injured, but the Panthers' star player has decided to stay in Florida since his wife is about to give birth. The Panthers are therefore heading to Montreal with a team that's really, really battered:

(Credit: Screenshot / ESPN)

This is truly a must-win game for the Canadiens tonight.

The team is coming off a rough outing, having been completely dominated Sunday night at home by the New Jersey Devils. The 3-0 loss stung… but the Canadiens seemed burned out from their road trip, which might explain why the guys looked so sluggish on the ice.

But tonight, there are no excuses.

Especially when you consider that the Panthers will be without all their best players…


In a nutshell

– Hehe.

– Nice.

– He's underrated.

– Read this.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!