Montreal Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi will not travel with the team to New York after sustaining an upper-body injury early in Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Kotkaniemi was skating in his first shift of the game when Avalanche defenceman Nikita Zadorov rode him into the boards behind the Avalanche net and flipped him over. The 19-year-old Fin required assistance from his teammates to get off the ice and into the dressing room.
Kotkaniemi, the third-overall pick in the 2018 draft, has five points and is minus-six in 22 games.
Montreal lost to Colorado, 3-2, and will face the New York Rangers on Friday night.
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