The Canadiens will be without a pair of defensemen for their game tonight against Toronto. The team announced (Twitter link) that Kaiden Guhle is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury while Arber Xhekaj is also out with an upper-body injury; he is undergoing further evaluation to determine how long he might be out. In a corresponding move, blueliner Justin Barron was recalled from AHL Laval on an emergency basis which means he won’t count against their post-deadline four-recall limit.
Guhle, who was injured early in Thursday’s game against Tampa Bay, is once again playing a big role on Montreal’s back end this season. Through 70 games, he has six goals and 16 assists along with 178 blocked shots and 141 hits. The 22-year-old sophomore leads the Canadiens in blocks and sits second among their blueliners in ATOI, logging a little under 21 minutes a night.
As for Xhekaj, he broke camp with the Canadiens but was sent to Laval for seven weeks midseason before being recalled in late January where he has been a regular in the lineup since then. The 23-year-old has three goals and seven assists along with 125 hits and a team-high 81 penalty minutes in 44 games with Montreal in just under 16 minutes a night while he added 11 points in 17 contests with the Rocket.
Barron, meanwhile, has split the season between the NHL and AHL. He has played in 41 games with Montreal (a career-high) and has a dozen points to his credit while averaging a little less than 19 minutes per contest. However, the 22-year-old has spent most of the second half of the year in the minors and hasn’t been as impactful as expected although he still has 11 points in 30 AHL contests.