BROSSARD – Star goaltender Carey Price will not make another appearance for the Montreal Canadiens this season, and neither will top defenceman P.K. Subban.
Canadiens coach Michel Therrien confirmed Wednesday that the team’s core players will not return for either of the team’s last two regular-season games.
Price is recovering from a long-term lower-body injury, while Subban suffered a neck injury on March 11 and has been out since.
Therrien’s announcement comes almost a week after Price returned to full practice for the first time since Nov. 25.
Therrien had expressed guarded optimism at that time that Price might appear before the Canadiens wrapped up their disappointing 2015-16 campaign.
“Carey isn’t 100 per cent. That’s why he isn’t going to play,” Therrien said Wednesday.
“There just isn’t enough time left in the season.”
Therrien said rookie goaltender Charles Lindgren will make his NHL debut Thursday at Carolina, and Mike Condon will close out the season Saturday at home to Tampa Bay.
Price won the Hart Trophy last year as the NHL’s most valuable player and was off to a terrific start this season, going 10-2-0 with a 2.06 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage before suffering his second injury of the season in November.
Montreal started the season with nine straight wins, but quickly fell out of contention without their superstar goaltender.