Kirby Dach’s illness has put the Canadiens in a familiar spot: shuffling the middle of the ice again while they try to keep their winning run rolling.
Montreal heads into Tuesday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets with a lineup decision looming after Dach missed practice. If he can’t go, Owen Beck looks like the clearest option to slide in and get another crack at center.
The Canadiens have been winning anyway. They’ve taken five straight, capped by Saturday’s 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, and they’re 8-1-1 over their last 10. Even so, the center position remains unsettled because Nick Suzuki is still out with an upper-body injury.
Suzuki leads the team with 12 points in nine games, so his absence has already been felt. Dach’s situation only adds to the uncertainty, especially since he has not scored a goal in 13 games this season.
That opens the door for Beck, who has already appeared in four games this year. He has two assists and five penalty minutes in that stretch, and across his NHL career he has one goal and three assists in 32 games.
The raw numbers don’t jump off the page, but the opportunity is real. The 22-year-old, taken 33rd overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, is in a spot where he can start carving out a bigger role while Martin St-Louis looks for help down the middle.
There’s also a contract angle hanging over his season. Beck’s entry-level deal expires at the end of the campaign, and he’ll become a restricted free agent after that. Every shift matters for him right now.
Dach is listed as day-to-day with an illness, and November 3 is his earliest estimated return date. That’s only an estimate, though, and it doesn’t lock him in for the Winnipeg game.
Suzuki’s earliest estimated return date is November 18. There has been some encouraging movement on that front, though. He was seen skating in full equipment in Brossard, holding his stick with only his right hand.
It’s a good sign, but not a return date.
If Dach is unavailable, Beck is the straightforward replacement. Montreal has already found ways to win with him in the lineup, and Tuesday gives him another chance to show he belongs.
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