Montreal Canadiens place Rafael Harvey-Pinard on injured reserve, recall Jayden Struble

The Montreal Canadiens have kicked off the week by placing forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard on injured reserve, and calling up defenseman Jayden Struble from the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

Harvey-Pinard has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury. He also missed a three-game stretch after getting hit awkwardly by Troy Stecher in a game against the Arizona Coyotes earlier in November.

The 24-year-old has recorded four assists in 13 games in a bottom-six role for the Canadiens. The high-energy winger impressed in his first extended NHL stint last year, scoring 14 goals and 20 points in 34 games. The 5-foot-9 Quebec native built up a solid AHL career before making the Habs on a full-time basis, scoring 46 goals and 107 points in 145 games. Harvey-Pinard had a career-best 56 points in 2021-22, his first full AHL campaign.

Struble, 22, deserved the call-up after a great start to his pro career. The punishing defenseman has six points in 12 games and played nine more games a year ago after finishing his four-year tenure at Northeastern University. Originally drafted 46th overall in 2019, Struble helped the Huskies win the Hockey East regular season title in 2022.

Struble could make his NHL debut when the Canadiens face off against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. They’ll stay in California for games against San Jose on Friday and Los Angeles on Saturday before treking off to Ohio to face the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 29. They’ll close out the month of November at home on the 30th with a meeting with the Florida Panthers.

The Canadiens currently sit tied for last with Ottawa in the Atlantic Division with 16 points. They have lost the past four games and have a 2-7-1 record over the pat 10 games, only outmatched by Columbus in the Eastern Conference.