The Montreal Canadiens will be without one of their top offensive weapons when they visit the Washington Capitals on Friday night. Montreal announced that winger Patrik Laine will not join the rest of his teammates on their trip to DC.
Laine, who has eight goals in 13 games this season, will miss his fourth straight game due to flu-like symptoms. The 26-year-old Finnish forward already missed 24 games earlier this season after spraining his left knee in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Patrik Laine ne suivra pas l'équipe à Washington.
Patrik Laine will not travel to Washington.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 9, 2025
Laine skated with the Canadiens at their practice on Thursday morning but is still not ready to return to action. His last game was on New Year’s Eve against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The big winger played against Washington in his third game of the season, recording four shots in 16:54 of ice time. The Capitals won the game 4-2 after Tom Wilson scored two third-period goals despite getting hit in the face by a Jakob Chychrun shot earlier in the night.
Montreal will also be without defenseman David Savard due to an upper-body injury. Savard has 10 points (1g, 9a) in 35 games this season, skating the fifth-most minutes per game (18:37) among the Canadiens’ regular skaters.
The Habs are one of the NHL’s hottest teams, with eight wins in their last 10 games. They are just one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and have a game in hand.
