The Canadian was no more vocal than he was on Saturday evening about Kaiden Guhle’s injury. On Thursday, the organization simply confirmed what it had hinted at at the end of the bitter loss to the Minnesota Wild: The defenseman has an upper-body injury and his case is being evaluated daily.
Therefore, this injury is still a bit of a mystery. Where is he injured? When did this injury occur? How long will he be away?
IN THE MAIN VIDEO | Watch coach Martin St-Louis’ post-practice press conference this morning.
“It shouldn’t be long before he comes back,” said David Savard as he returned to the locker room after training.
“We hope to see him again in two weeks,” said Johnathan Kovacevic, a few steps away from his teammate.
So we’re not too worried about the team.
That would be a good thing since, like Kirby Dach, the 21-year-old Albertan missed a lot of games last winter. The 21-year-old athlete was injured first in the knee and then in the ankle and was only able to play 44 games.
This is not ideal for a young, developing athlete. Especially in the defender position.
Let’s stay calm
Even though a second soldier has already died in combat in just three games, Martin St-Louis is not discouraged. He repeated it on Thursday afternoon.
“I think we have more depth and experience than last year,” he said. Even though I know you [les journalistes], that worries you a lot, it doesn’t worry me because I like our depth. We’re not going to stop just because we lose one or two guys.”
Justin Barron should benefit from this absence. He has been left off the roster since the start of the season and will most likely face the Capitals on Saturday night at the Bell Center.
If that’s the case, there will be two weeks between this Alex Ovechkin visit and his last game appearance. It was the final part of the preparation plan in Ottawa.
“The wait is longer because there are many days between games, but I feel ready,” said the young defender. We’ve had some good practices over the last week and a half.”
An opportunity to be seized
Barron had to wait on the bridge, but that wasn’t due to the coaching staff’s dissatisfaction.
“He hasn’t played so far because we felt comfortable with the six defenders in front of him,” said the Canadian coach. Maybe he’ll get the chance to play. No matter what reason they come back into the lineup, players like him have to be ready at a moment’s notice.
Barron wants to take advantage of his chance. At one point during this camp we wondered if Mattias Norlinder would overtake him on the St Louis chessboard.
“I’m happy to have started the season here, even though I haven’t played a game yet,” he said. I want to be someone who can be trusted in his field. And I hope that I can also contribute offensively if the opportunity arises to get involved in the attack.