Two crucial Montreal Canadiens miss morning skate before Game 4 must-win
|
Daniel Lucente
May 27, 2026 (1:04 PM)
|
|
Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Two names were missing from the Montreal Canadiens' morning skate on Tuesday, and the timing could not be worse.
Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach did not participate ahead of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
"Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach are absent from the Canadiens' morning skate."
- Simon-Olivier L'Orange
- Simon-Olivier L'Orange
The Canadiens are already trailing the series 2-1, and tonight's game at the Bell Centre is as close to a must-win situation as it gets for this team.
Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports noted that Brendan Gallagher, Oliver Kapanen, and Arber Xhekaj were doing extra work on the ice this morning - which typically signals they are not in the lineup for the evening game.
Why Dach's absence carries more weight
The report suggests Newhook's situation is the less alarming of the two, but Dach is a different story entirely.
His injury history means every unexplained absence carries extra weight, especially in a playoff series already slipping away.
He has already looked physically limited in stretches of this series, and that was before Tuesday's development.
Martin St-Louis needs forwards who can sustain real pressure against a Carolina Hurricanes team that has been suffocating Montreal's offense for large portions of this series.
A compromised Kirby Dach simply is not the same player.
What this means for Montreal's attack tonight
Carolina won Game 3 in overtime, 3-2, and the Canadiens have been unable to generate the consistent, sustained offense needed to put the Hurricanes under real pressure.
Losing Dach - even partially - removes one of the few forwards capable of driving play through the middle of the ice.
If St-Louis has to reshuffle his forward group on short notice, the matchup problems get worse, not better.
Montreal does not have the depth to absorb two missing forwards and come out of it without consequences tonight.
This one matters. And how both players look before puck drop will tell you everything about where this series is really headed.
Also read on HockeyLatest :
Why the Oilers' meeting with former Leafs coach tells us more than just a name
Why the Oilers' meeting with former Leafs coach tells us more than just a name