Alex Galchenyuk out indefinitely with lower-body injury

Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Galchenyuk is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, the team announced Monday.

Montreal said Galchenyuk underwent tests in St. Louis on Monday and will be further evaluated by team doctors on Wednesday. Then the Canadiens hope to give another update.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest now]

Galchenyuk left the Habs’ game at the Kings late in the third period, after his right leg collided with Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar.

Following the game coach Michel Therrien didn’t have an update on the player’s status. That game, Therrien added captain Max Pacioretty to the duo of Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov on the Canadiens’ top scoring line. The trio scored three of the team’s four goals in a 5-4 shootout win.

“That was the first time we put all those three guys together. As a coach you’re always happy for the guys when they get results,” Therrien said.

The 22-year-old Galchenyuk had 23 points in 25 games and was on pace for a career-high 75 points. Last season he scored 30 goals, which tied Pacioretty for the team lead.

Galchenyuk’s offensive breakthrough this year has coincided with the team putting him on the same line with Radulov, a free agent acquisition last summer.

[Follow Puck Daddy on Facebook]

“There is good chemistry with him and Galchenyuk,” Therrien said recently. “I think those two really fit well together. Radulov is a good playmaker and Galchenyuk is a good goal scorer.”

Losing Galchenyuk will likely hurt the Canadiens’ offense, which had struggled of late. Before the game at the Kings, the Habs scoring had gone cold with 18 goals in their previous nine games.

In 2011, Galchenyuk tore his left ACL while he was a member of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting.

– – – – – – –

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

MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS