In the first period of their eventual 3-2 win against the Blackhawks, Dach was traversing the neutral zone into the offensive zone with speed before Tinordi met him with a big check along the Blackhawks bench. At first glance it didn't look all too serious but he went back to Montreal's bench in obvious pain and wasn't able to shake things off as he left the game.
The former 3rd overall pick from the 2019 NHL Entry Draft had 2 assists in their season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs, while skating 21:22 TOI. He only managed 4:40 TOI before being forced out of the game against Chicago. Big things were expected from Dach this season after he looked to have turned things around in Montreal last season.
He only managed 19 goals and 59 points in 152 games in 3 seasons with Chicago, which included a 2021-22 campaign with just 9 goals and 26 points in 70 games, while averaging 18:03 TOI. With no first round picks in the 2022 draft, the Blackhawks decided to blow things up and acquired 1 of 3 first rounders in a three-team trade that netted Montreal Kirby Dach.
Eric Engels mentioned in his tweet that more tests are to be done in the next coming days but as of right now there's a very good chance that he might miss the entire season - if not a very large chunk of it.
"Initial word I'm receiving on Canadiens' Kirby Dach is he has a torn ACL+torn MCL in his knee. There are more tests being done, and we'll wait for Habs to officially confirm once they're received all the info, but this puts Dach's season at risk if it ends up being the case."
POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 17 | 36 ANSWERS Young Canadiens star may be out for the season with devastating injury Will we see Kirby Dach return before the end of the season? | ||
Yes | 10 | 27.8 % |
No | 12 | 33.3 % |
Not Leafs, don't care | 14 | 38.9 % |
List of polls |