Carey Price (MCL sprain), P.K. Subban won’t return this season
Nearly five months after suffering a lower-body injury we finally have clarity on what’s kept Carey Price out all this time.
On Wednesday, the Canadiens announced that Price and P.K. Subban will not dress in their final two regular season games. According to team physician Dr. Vincent Lacroix, the netminder suffered an MCL sprain to his right knee during that November game against the New York Rangers, which helped derail the team’s season.
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At the time, the Canadiens announced Price would miss a minimum of six weeks.
“The recovery process can be long in the case of an elite netminder such as Carey, due to the high demand placed on this anatomical structure by modern goaltending techniques. Although Carey has made excellent progress and is very close to being able to return to competition, he has not presently been cleared to do so. He is expected to make a full recovery over the off-season. This injury was not the same as the one he suffered earlier this season (October 29th at Edmonton), nor in previous years.”
Despite still not being cleared, Price’s status with Canada’s World Cup team has not changed, according to GM Doug Armstrong via a text to Pierre LeBrun.
“We named Carey with the understanding he will be 100% come the World Cup, nothing has changed in that thought process,” Armstrong wrote.
Price told Sportsnet last week that he’ll be ready for the September tournament.
Subban, who wasn’t named to Canada’s initial World Cup roster, had been practicing with the team for the last two weeks after suffering a “non-serious neck injury” following a collision with teammate Alexei Emelin during a March 10 game.
The final seven players for each World Cup roster must be named by June 1 (possibly moved back to June depending on the Stanley Cup Final schedule).
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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