Canadiens’ Josh Anderson won’t play vs. Oilers on Saturday

The Montreal Canadiens announced on social media that forward Josh Anderson is dealing with a lower-body injury and will not play on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers. He is considered day-to-day.

Anderson, 29, played last Thursday in the Canadiens 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, scoring a goal and logging in 17:48 of ice time. There was no indication that the winger suffered an injury.

Through 41 games this season, Anderson has seven goals and five assists for 12 points, on pace for his lowest point total over a full season since his 2016-17 campaign with the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he recorded 29 points (17 goals and 12 assists) in 78 games.

Through 10 NHL seasons, Anderson has 129 goals, 86 assists for 215 points in 498 career games. He hit career highs in 2018-19 with the Blue Jackets, scoring 27 goals and 20 assists for 47 points. After the 2019-20 season, Anderson was a free agent and signed a seven-year, $38.5 million deal with the Canadiens. He is currently in the fourth year of that deal.

It’s likely the club expected Anderson to be unavailable for Saturday’s game as the team announced on Friday night that they recalled forward Joshua Roy from the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

The 20-year-old winger played in two preseason games with the Canadiens during training camp but has yet to make his NHL debut. Through the 2023-24 AHL regular season, Roy has 12 goals and 18 assists through 34 games with the Rocket.

The Canadiens are 17-18-6 with 40 points through 41 games, sixth in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division. They’re seven points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second Wild Card spot.