MONTREAL--Montreal Canadiens defenceman Alexei Emelin will miss the remainder of the NHL regular season with a knee injury.
The 26-year-old Russian player hurt his left knee when delivering a check to opponent Milan Lucic in Montreal’s 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
The Canadiens said Monday the physical defenseman tore a ligament in the collision, and have called Nathan Beaulieu up from the Hamilton Bulldogs to fill his place on the roster.
The 6-foot, 2-inch Emelin led the team with 110 hits thrown in 38 games this season.
“This is obviously a big loss for us,” coach Michel Therrien said. “But we found ways to fill those gaps because the players really bought into our system of play and the team concept. All season long, we’ve managed to deal with losing key elements of our team while still being able to come through and win games.”
Forward Rene Bourque is expected to make his return to the lineup on Tuesday when the Canadiens play the Washington Capitals at the Bell Centre. Bourque has missed 21 games with a concussion. Therrien said defenseman Raphael Diaz’s own recovery from a concussion was steadily improving.
