Montreal Canadiens center Kirby Dach of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta is out for the remainder of the 2023-24 National Hockey League regular season only two games into the year. On Saturday, Dach tore his anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in a 3-2 Canadiens win over the Chicago Blackhawks. He had significant swelling once the injury occurred, and is expected to soon have surgery.
How did the Injury Occur?
Dach was checked into the boards by Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi of Burnsville, Minnesota. He only played four shifts and had four minutes and 40 seconds worth of ice time at the time of the ailment.
Second Significant Injury in Career
Dach suffered a significant wrist injury during the 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Hockey Championships. As a result, he missed nearly three months of action before returning to the Chicago Blackhawks. The injury to Dach is one major reason why National Hockey League teams are hesitant in allowing their players to play in this elite international hockey tournament while the NHL season is taking place.
2023-24 NHL Statistics
This season, Dach had two assists in two games. He had both of his helpers in a 6-5 Canadiens loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 11. He set up Alex Newhook of St. John’s, Newfoundland at 1:10 of the second period to put the Canadiens up 2-0, and set up Newhook again at 5:47 of the third period, to put the Canadiens up 4-3. This was Newhook’s first NHL games with the Canadiens after three seasons with the Colorado Avalanche.
Who will join the Canadiens’s second line?
Dach was centering the Canadiens’s second line at the time of the injury. Now Alex Newhook is moving over from wing to center, and will be joined on a line with Tanner Pearson of Kitchener, Ontario. Juraj Slafkovsky will continue to play right wing with Newhook.
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