The Canadiens announced Monday afternoon that they have called up forward Owen Beck from the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
The move comes after forward Florian Xhekaj missed Saturday night’s 1-0 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Bell Centre with an undisclosed injury. The Canadiens were forced to use 11 forwards and seven defenceman for that game.
Xhekaj practised with his teammates Monday morning at the Bell Centre, but had to leave the ice early after appearing to aggravate what looked like a lower-body injury.
Florian Xhekaj quitte l’entraînement après quelques minutes seulement.
On l’a vu grimacer dès qu’il tentait d’accélérer un peu. Visiblement incommodé. @RDSca pic.twitter.com/ddPJ8mFifZ
— Patrick Friolet (@PFrioletRDS) October 12, 2026
The Canadiens, who are off to a 2-2-1 start to the season, will be back in action Tuesday at the Bell Centre against the Buffalo Sabres (6:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS) before travelling to Washington to face the Capitals on Thursday (7:30 p.m., Amazon Prime).
Forward Oliver Kapanen, who has yet to play this season because of a lower-body injury, and defenceman Mike Matheson did not practise on Monday. The team said it was a therapy day for both.
Beck had one assist in four games with the Rocket this season, while Xhekaj had no points in two games with the Canadiens.
I grew up dreaming of being an NHL defenceman or an MLB pitcher, but that didn’t happen. Fortunately, I was able to find another path to work in sports and have been part of The Gazette sports department since the early 1980s, including a 12-year stint as sports editor before becoming sports columnist in 2015. It’s a great job and I’m a lucky guy.
scowan@postmedia.com
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