Sunday, January 27, 2013
Impact of Pacioretty's absence
By Luke Lapinski
According to the Montreal Canadiens, Max Pacioretty will be out 3-4 weeks following an emergency appendectomy on Saturday. That derails the nice start that the 24-year old forward had gotten off to. And it also leaves a relatively thin Habs club without one of its top young weapons for awhile.
Pacioretty led the club with 65 points last season, quietly posting 33 goals. And he had jumped out of the gate with four assists in three contests to begin the 2012-13 campaign. A 3-4 week absence isn't the worst thing in the world, and Pacioretty has proven to be a tough young player already over his four years in the league. But it will leave Montreal -- who is already playing without P.K. Subban at the moment -- without one of it's top weapons for a good portion of a shortened season. That means more offensive responsibility falls on the shoulders of Brian Gionta, Tomas Plekanec, David Desharnais and Erik Cole up front. And it means Carey Price will have to be even that much more impressive in goal.
