Canadiens place Shea Weber on IR with lower-body injury

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber, right, celebrates his goal against the Arizona Coyotes with left wing Tomas Tatar (90) and defenseman Victor Mete (53) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (Ross D. Franklin/AP)

The Montreal Canadiens have placed defenceman Shea Weber on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, coach Claude Julien said on Thursday.

Weber is dealing with swelling, but the severity of the injury is unknown. He skated 24:50 in Montreal’s 5-4 win against New Jersey on Tuesday and sustained the injury during that game, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels.

In 55 games this year, Weber has 13 goals and 34 points while skating a team-high 24:18 per game. But he has just three points in his past 16 games.

The Canadiens also recalled defenceman Xavier Ouellet and forward Jake Evans from their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, on Thursday.

Ouellet, a 2011 second-round pick, has 24 points in 39 games with Laval this season.

Evans, a 2014 seventh-round pick, has 12 goals and 34 points in 48 games with the Rocket. He is in his second professional season and has yet to debut in the NHL.

Montreal hosts the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. Tomas Tatar and Ryan Poehling are questionable to play, while Jordan Weal is out.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.