Brossard, QC (SportsNetwork.com) - The Montreal Canadiens will be without leading scorer Max Pacioretty for the opening game of their first-round playoff series against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night.
Montreal coach Michel Therrien confirmed Pacioretty will not play after the morning skate as he continues to recover from an upper-body injury.
"Like I said at the beginning of the week, we'll take him when he's back at 100 percent," Therrien said. "It was possible that it would have been [Wednesday], but that's obviously not the case. It could be Friday, it could be Sunday, so as soon as we get the OK from the medical team we'll be very happy to have him back in the lineup."
Pacioretty left early in the Canadiens' 4-1 win at the Florida Panthers on April 5 when he hit the back of his head against the boards after being checked by Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. He missed the final two games of the regular season.
Pacioretty had 37 goals and 67 points this season.
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