Canadiens' Jonathan Drouin out vs. Islanders after taking puck to head

The Montreal Canadiens offered a positive update on forward Jonathan Drouin Wednesday. They said he didn't suffer a concussion when he was struck in the head by a shot delivered by teammate Brett Kulak in Tuesday's 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

As Sean Farrell noted for the NHL's website, Drouin participated in Thursday's morning skate but will not be available for the night game against the New York Islanders at Bell Centre while he's still recovering. 

"We're not taking any chances with something like this, so he won't be in the lineup," Montreal coach Dominique Ducharme explained when speaking with reporters. 

"There's no concussion but still he got a puck to the head. We want to make sure it's not a concussion and so on. It's not like an elbow or a shoulder or something like that, so we want to be careful." 

While the Canadiens are making the right decision considering Drouin's health beyond hockey, it's nevertheless another brutal blow for a team that began the 2021-22 season 0-5-0 and that now sits at 3-8-0. Per ESPN stats, Drouin is second on the team with five assists and seven points, and he's also contributed two goals this fall.