Canadiens' Price, Armia returning; Shaw to IR

[January 04, 2019]  Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price will make his return Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks after missing the previous three games with a lower-body injury.

Price told reporters Wednesday that the injury had bothered him for several weeks before he finally sat out late last month.

"I'm feeling pretty good," Price said. "Obviously, it's nice to get some time off and get things settled down and start feeling normal again."

Despite the injury, Price has won consecutive starts and eight of his last 11. He is 15-10-4 on the season, his 12th in the NHL, with a 2.84 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.

Montreal will also get forward Joel Armia back against the Canucks, after he was activated Thursday following a 25-game absence due to a lower-body injury. Winger Andrew Shaw (neck) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Monday, to make room on the roster.

Armia, 25, has three goals and four assists in 15 games this season, his first with the Habs. He posted career highs of 12 goals and 17 assists in 79 games with Winnipeg last year.

Shaw hurt his neck in Monday's game at Dallas and has since had headaches, head coach Claude Julien told reporters Thursday. Because of the 27-year-old's concussion history -- he has had three in the last 18 months -- the team is not rushing his return.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) makes a first period save against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

"Right now it's a neck injury that's giving him headaches, the doctors are not able to confirm a concussion," Julien said. "But it's being treated in a way where we got to get rid of those headaches, and that's what we're going to do. So we're kind of taking the concussion protocol for that because of his history."

Shaw has 11 goals and 13 assists in 36 games this season, putting him on pace for the best offensive season of his career. He has not topped 20 goals, 20 assists or 39 points in his previous seven NHL campaigns.

--Field Level Media

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