It has become a custom that after every round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, teams reveal a list of their players who were playing through injury. In the past, players have gone through torn ligaments, concussions, broken bones, and illness, and this is true even in the “bubble” playoffs this season.
Montreal Canadians
Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin reported that Brendan Gallager was playing with a tear in his hip before the Montreal Canadiens forward broke his jaw against the Philadelphia Flyers. The 28-year-old forward apparently suffered the injury during the Canadiens’ qualifying-round elimination of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“But he was also playing with a hip issue that he hurt against . He had a little tear in his hip. But you guys know him as well as I do; he’s got the heart of a lion and he wouldn’t get off the ice. But he was a little banged up.” – Marc Bergevin
Bergevin said Gallagher also underwent successful surgery for his broken jaw in Toronto on Friday and returned home to Vancouver on Saturday.
Matt Niskanen was suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety, on the play that broke Gallagher’s jaw – a cross-check during a puck battle in the third period of the Flyers 5-3 win in Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the East hub city.
The Canadiens, a +10000 Stanley Cup underdog according to SuperLenny Canada, were in the playoffs for the first time since 2017 after surprising the Penguins in the qualifying round. They outscored Philadelphia in the series 13-11 but were also shut out twice. The Flyers eliminated the Canadians in six games.
Calgary Flames
Flames General Manager Brad Treliving spoke to reporters and reported that both Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk were playing through significant injuries.
Bennett tore a triceps muscle in the qualification play-in round but still led the team in scoring during the postseason. The 24-year-old center from Holland Landing, Ontario scored five goals and had eight points in ten games. The injury apparently limited him in the face-off circle. Bennett took just 29 draws across the six-game series with forward Milan Lucic taking the majority while they were both on the ice.
According to Treliving, Tkachuk suffered a concussion during the second game against Dallas.
“Matthew was dealing with a concussion in the Dallas series. He was concussed and so we were unsure of his timetable, he was going through the concussion protocol from the time he was injured.” – Brad Treliving
While it is unclear what play specifically caused Tkachuk’s concussion, the winger appeared hurt after a collision with Jamie Oleksiak during the third period.
Kristen Anderson of the Calgary Sun reported that Rasmus Andersson was playing with a broken foot. Like Bennett, Andersson apparently suffered the injury during the qualification play-in round against the Winnipeg Jets. The young defenseman recorded four points in six games in the final series while averaging almost 23 minutes of ice time against the Stars. The 23-year-old blueliner from Malmo, Sweden is in his second full season with the Flames and signed a six-year contract extension in January. He was picked in the 2nd Round of the 2015 NHL Draft (53rd overall).
St. Louis Blues
According to NHL.com, Vladimir Tarasenko will have shoulder surgery next week and is expected to be out at least 5 months.
“I think he can have the same impact as before but it’s really irrelevant what I think or what I feel. It’s going to be how he does when he gets back.” – Doug Armstrong
Blues general manager Armstrong also said the surgery is similar to the procedure he had on October 29th of last year.
Coach Craig Berube revealed that defenseman Carl Gunnarsson was not a healthy scratch in the series and was dealing with a lower-body injury. Robert Bortuzzo played for the Blues in the Game 5 loss against Vancouver.
Alexander Steen played through an upper-body injury after the season restart but ended up missing most of the final series. He spoke to the media via a Zoom call last week.
“It started before camp and kind of led into camp. Had some issues going on during camp. I think we were chasing it from the get-go, tried taking a couple periods off, a couple sections of camp. We just couldn’t get it under control.” – Alexander Steen
Steen went on to say that he does not think surgery will be required, hopes to start rehabbing soon, and expects to be ready by the start of next season.
Arizona Coyotes
Despite an embarrassing ending to the season where the Coyotes were outscored 14-2 over the last two games, Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet remained upbeat and optimistic.
“We got invited to the bubble, we beat Nashville, we were underdogs. And then we run into a buzzsaw in Colorado. Playing Colorado with injuries at the center position, you’re playing against the best player in the world , you’ve got Kadri who’s unreal, they controlled the pace of the game. You can’t just blow up everything because of that, those two games.”
Tocchet also revealed that several players were playing hurt. According to the coach, Brad Richardson played with a thumb injury that will require surgery in the offseason. Lead goal scorer Conor Garland suffered a head injury and missed the last two games of the series. Center Christian Dvorak was playing with a significant shoulder injury sustained early in the Nashville series. Craig Morgan reported that Dvorak played the entire series against the Colorado Avalanche with a separated shoulder.
Nick Schmaltz, missed the entire postseason with an undisclosed head injury caused by a hit he took from Golden Knight’s Ryan Reaves in an exhibition game.