Six players miss morning practice as Canadiens confirm Alexandre Texier injury

The Canadiens' practice in Brossard opened with a major question mark.

At 10:30 a.m. at the Bell Centre, Martin St-Louis wanted to get his group on the ice ahead of tonight's game against the Minnesota Wild, but several notable absences immediately stood out.

According to reports from the scene, the practice took place without Juraj Slafkovsky, Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher, Alexandre Texier, and Phillip Danault among the forwards.

Shortly after, the Canadiens provided clarification and it directly concerns Texier.

That update helps explain both his absence from practice and the adjustments made to the lineup.

With Texier sidelined on a day-to-day basis, the Canadiens are once again shaking up their forward lines. Kirby Dach is expected to replace Texier on the first line, stepping into a key offensive role as the team looks for stability.

While Texier is the only one officially dealing with an injury, Brendan Gallagher is also drawing attention. He did not practice and appears to be banged up, but Martin St-Louis confirmed that Gallagher, along with Slafkovsky, Anderson, and Danault, is expected to be in the lineup tonight.

That said, Texier's situation remains the one to monitor most closely.

In short, that's a significant amount of experience missing from practice, and even if most of it is precautionary, Texier's injury has already had a direct impact on the Canadiens' lineup decisions.

Things are heating up and the Canadiens may need to adapt on the fly once again.

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. tonight at the Bell Centre as the Canadiens host the Minnesota Wild, who are coming off a 6-3 win last night against the Maple Leafs.

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Canadiens announce multiple line changes as Kirby Dach returns vs. Wild