Montreal Canadiens defenceman Alexei Emelin will miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his knee.
Medical update on Alexei Emelin: suffered a torn ligament in his left knee. He will not return this season.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 8, 2013
Emelin, 26, left Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins after a collision with forward Milan Lucic.
The Russian is leading the Canadiens in hits and has three goals, nine assists, 33 penalty minutes, and a plus-2 rating in 38 games this season.
Emelin has averaged close to 20 minutes a game this season and it remains unclear who will replace the defenceman in the lineup.
The team is already without blueliner Raphael Diaz — who has not played since Feb. 25 with a concussion.
The Canadiens lead the Northeast Division and sit in the second place in the Eastern Conference standing, entering Monday’s play.
