When Alexei Emelin went down 20 seconds into last night's game with the Senators, with Greg Pateryn playing his first game in the NHL this season, a tough chore became a lot tougher.
The Canadiens and Senators volleyed defensive lapses in the first period and the game was under control at 1-1 in the second before P.K. Subban stepped up to block a one-timer from Bobby Ryan. The shot hobbled Subban, hitting him squarely in the gap between his shin pad and his skate tongue.
You could hear a gasp of concern across Canadiens nation, watching Andrei Markov push a helpless Subban to the bench.
With Subban in the room, the Senators capitalized immediately on a brilliant pass from Erik Karlsson to who else but Jean-Gabriel Pageau. They took a 2-1 lead to the third and never looked back.
All of this with Andrew Hammond--an AHL journey man with a sub-.900 save percentage at that level, this season--making his first NHL start. The Canadiens peppered Hammond with 30 shots before the end of the second, but he stood tall to allow the Senators the advantage they took to the third.
Early in the game, Brandon Prust pushed a perfect pass from Subban off the post, and he managed to do that from inside the crease. Brendan Gallagher, also in the crease, managed to bat a rebound wide off a blistering shot by Max Pacioretty in the third.
In the second period, Jiri Sekac manufactured a perfect opportunity for Tom Gilbert to put the Canadiens up a goal. Gilbert corralled Sekac's brilliant cross-slot pass before pulling up on the shot and booting it over the net.
In the third, Tomas Plekanec gifted a similar opportunity to Lars Eller, who seemed ill-prepared to receive the pass, allowing the puck to jump off his skate before turning it over to the Senators.
With just over half of the third period remaining, Mark Stone put the Senators up 3-1, pushing a loose puck past Dustin Tokarski. It was a scramble that Pateryn ended up on the losing end of.
The Canadiens responded with a broken play of their own, as Nathan Beaulieu slipped one through a double screen in front of Hammond; it was his first NHL goal, 65 games into his career.
With 42 shots on net, the lowest scoring road team in the league only managed two goals. The Canadiens lost again to the Senators-- the only team that's beaten them on the road since a December 6th loss to the Dallas Stars.
Not even Subban's return to the third period could get Montreal back into position. Subban hobbled around for the first ten minutes of the frame before pushing himself up a gear to help Beaulieu score his first goal. Sufficed to say, he didn't look comfortable.
After the game, Jarred Tinordi was recalled immediately and Michel Therrien confirmed in his post-game comments that Tinordi would be in the lineup tonight against the Panthers, in Montreal.
It's suspected Alexei Emelin's suffered a serious shoulder injury. The Canadiens will provide an update on him at some point today. As for Subban, his status for tonight's game is questionable.
UPDATE: ALEXEI EMELIN WILL BE OUT INDEFINITELY WITH AN INJURY TO HIS RIGHT SHOULDER, NO SURGERY REQUIRED.
There are losses, and then there are losses!
How will the Canadiens overcome the loss of Emelin, who recently picked up his game to provide more stability on the back end?
How would the possession-challenged Habs deal with the short term loss of Subban?
It's consensus that GM Marc Bergevin's been shopping for a defenseman for quite some time. It's been reported that he was interested in Toronto's Cody Franson before a trade between the Predators and Leafs was consummated last week.
Bergevin was also believed to be discussing the possibility of bringing pending UFA Jeff Petry to Montreal with Oilers GM Craig MacTavish. Petry left last night's game against the Bruins after taking Adam McQuaid's slapper in the ribs. He did not return to action.
Will all of this put Bergevin in a position of weakness on the trade market?
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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