HabsWorld.net -- 

Saturday became an off-day for the Habs following the postponement of their game against Boston but there was still plenty of news.  The team announced that Artturi Lehkonen has been placed in COVID protocol while Joel Armia and Mathieu Perreault have been put on injured reserve.

The Canadiens cancelled their planned practice on Saturday morning due to an abundance of caution which was a sign that something might be up on the COVID front.  In this case, that’s what happened with Lehkonen going into protocol.  That will keep him out of the lineup for at least the next 10 days, similar to what Sami Niku and Brendan Gallagher both went through.

Perreault was a late scratch for Thursday’s victory over the Flyers with a lower-body injury and this placement will keep him out through the holiday break.  As for Armia, he just returned after missing two games with an undisclosed injury of his own and still didn’t look right so it’s possible this could be a continuance of that.  While Perreault could have been eligible to return on Thursday in New Jersey on a back-dated placement, he has been ruled out through the holiday break as has Armia.

Montreal may not have to call anyone up from Laval with Niku and Gallagher both being eligible to return as their ten days in the protocol are up.  However, they will still have a roster spot open in that scenario and it wouldn’t be surprising to see an extra forward added knowing they’ll be heading on the road on Monday for three games in four nights.