Montreal forward Max Pacioretty is still out, and there is no reason to think he will be back, at very least until he sees a doctor in Montreal. This comes after the Habs’ sniper crashed into the boards Sunday against the Florida Panthers. And by crashed, we mean gently nudged by the ever so clean Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.

From the Canadiens’ website, via coach Michel Therrien:

“Therrien confirmed that an update will be available after the 26-year-old forward sees his doctor in Montreal. Pacioretty was forced out of Sunday's game against the Panthers early after crashing hard into the boards.”

Which of course means Max 67 will be out for Thursday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings – according to Montreal Gazette scribe Dave Stubbs.

And Stubbs brings up a good point on Pacioretty, who has a history of concussions. There was that Zdeno Chara play where we learned about the term ‘turnbuckle.’ And he was hospitalized after this Clayton Stoner hit in December.

Just rest him until the playoffs.

Of course with head injuries, there’s no guarantee of when a player can or will return. And being without Pacioretty, of the 37 goals and plus-38 rating is quite bad. How long will he be out? We don’t know. And that blows for Montreal, which is having a great season.

Now, goaltender Carey Price … it’s all up to you to both stand on your head every night and not get hurt in the process.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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