The Canadiens got some good news today with word that center Alex Galchenyuk and defenseman Andrei Markov are rejoining the club tonight and will practice with the team tomorrow. Montreal reported the news this afternoon via their official Twitter account.
Galchenyuk was in the midst of a breakout campaign as Montreal’s #1 center with 23 points in 25 appearances before suffering a knee injury which caused the talented 22-year-old pivot to miss the last month. To be fair, Galchenyuk had a pretty good 2015-16, netting 30 goals and tying Max Pacioretty for the team lead. While the Canadiens managed to post a 7 – 3 – 4 record in his absence, they undoubtedly are better with Galchenyuk on the ice.
Meanwhile, Markov also appears poised to rejoin the team after an eight-game absence due to a lower-body injury. The 38-year-old Russian may no longer be an elite top-pair blue liner but he is still a productive player who posted 21 points in 31 games to start this season. Last year, Markov registered 44 points in 82 games while averaging nearly 24 minutes a game.