It’s not all that surprising, but we’ve just learned two important updates regarding the Montreal Canadiens. The level of play from Jake Evans and Joel Armia seems to have dipped slightly over the past few weeks.
Many are pointing to a noticeable decline from both players, who were quite impressive prior to the trade deadline.
Well, it appears there’s a very specific reason behind that.
Jake Evans and Joel Armia Are Playing Through Significant Injuries
We’re talking about fairly serious injuries here.
When players say they’ve been playing playoff-style hockey for several weeks already, they mean it, they’re not joking, and you can see it in their level of commitment.
Just like in the playoffs, some players are competing while significantly injured.
From what we understand, if the Canadiens were already eliminated from playoff contention, Jake Evans and Joel Armia likely wouldn’t even be in the lineup. Imagine that.
“I can confirm that they’re dealing with something.”
Jake Evans and Joel Armia are currently not at 100%, and that explains their recent decline in performance, reports Marco D’Amico.
Jake Evans and Joel Armia are currently not at 100%, and that explains their recent decline in performance, reports Marco D’Amico.
Wrist Injury for Joel Armia: Oliver Kapanen Must Stay Ready for Martin St-Louis
As for Armia, once again, it’s not exactly breaking news, but it is indeed a wrist injury.
According to D’Amico, this helps explain why the fourth line is seeing less ice time late in the season, and why Christian Dvorak’s line is under more pressure.
“It’s because they’re injured.”
It’s still pretty incredible to see that Martin St-Louis prefers an injured Jake Evans and an injured Joel Armia over a fully healthy Joshua Roy.
That says a lot!