The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenseman Mike Matheson will not participate in tonight’s matchup against the Los Angeles Kings due to an upper-body injury.
Matheson played 7:35 minutes, recording one shot and one blocked shot during his time on the ice.
Frank Seravalli from Daily Faceoff reported on Prime Monday Night Hockey that Matheson’s injury is not serious, and he is expected to be ready for Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders. The 30-year-old has contributed three assists in four games this season while being paired with Justin Barron on the top defensive line and participating in the top power play unit.
Last season, Matheson achieved a career-best with 11 goals and 51 assists for a total of 62 points across 82 games.
He joined the Canadiens as part of the trade that involved Jeff Petry moving to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2022. Matheson was selected 23rd overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2012 NHL Draft and spent the first five years of his NHL career there before playing two years in Pittsburgh from the 2020-21 season onward. He has a cap hit of $4.875 million and a modified no-trade clause, remaining under contract until 2025-26.
Over his career, Matheson has tallied 68 goals and 169 assists for 237 points in 551 NHL regular-season games, along with seven points in 20 playoff games. Internationally, the Pointe-Claire, Quebec native has recorded 13 points in 20 games with Canada at the World Championships, earning a gold medal in 2016 and a silver in 2017.
An official update regarding Matheson will be provided after the game or in the days to follow by Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis or general manager Kent Hughes.
Montreal is scheduled to play against the Islanders on Saturday and the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
