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Despite the fact that the Canadiens opened up their season on a positive note, getting a clutch performance in goal from Carey Price and a last minute overtime goal from Josh Gorges to defeat the arch nemesis Toronto Maple Leafs last night, there is nothing but doom and gloom in the city of Montreal today.

After a seemingly innocuous collision with goaltender Carey Price, the Habs #1 defenseman, and arguably the best player on their roster limped off the ice following the tangle up. Well, it turns out it was not such a harmless collision after all as it was revealed today that Andrei Markov suffered a torn tendon in his ankle, will have to have surgery to repair said tendon, and will be out until after the Olympic break.

The news is an absolutely devastating for the Habs. Predicted to be a bubble playoff team, the Habs' chances of making the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs just took a huge hit. Markov quarterbacks their powerplay, by far their leading scorer from the back end, their best puck-moving defenseman, and the key to jump-starting their offense, and he plays in all crucial situations. In others words, he cannot be replaced.

Now, no doubt GM Bob Gainey, coach Jacques Martin and the players will feed media and fans the usual stuff about how injuries are part of the game, and everybody will have to be a little bit better to overcome the loss of their best player. However, those are just empty words - Markov's absence leaves a gaping hole on the blueline and in the locker room, and there is no getting around that.

So what is the solution? If the team can hold it together for the first month of the season there is no reason for Gainey to press the panic button. However, if the team shows signs it can't properly function without Markov then Gainey will have no choice but try to improve the situation via the trade route. A terrible month of October might very well be the difference between the club making the playoffs, or missing the post-season for the second straight season, an event that would have fans in the city of Montreal howling for blood.

However it plays out there can be no denying that Montreal just became an easier team to play against, and goaltender Carey Price, who looked so good in the opening game against Toronto, is going to have to be just as good going forward to give his team a chance to win without their star.

Has there been a sudden leap in skate sharpening technology in the past few years? Over the last couple of seasons skate blade related injuries seem to be on the rise. We saw the horrible injury to Richard Zednik when a skate blade cut his throat, Kevin Bieksa had most of a season wiped out when a skate lacerated his calf, and now Teemu Selanne has suffered what appears to be a serious leg injury after his own skate blade sliced him as he went awkwardly into the boards. This isn't even the first recent skate blade injury to a Ducks' player. Corey Perry missed 15 games in last year's regular season and playoffs after he was cut. Of course these recent injuries aren't the first in NHL history. Anybody who has been watching hockey for a while remembers the scary incident when Clint Malarchuk had his throat cut by Steve Tuttle's skate, and Donald Audette suffered severe damage to his wrist when his arm was slashed. However, the past few years it seems to be happening more and more frequently .Of course it could be just a statistical anomaly, but if the trend continues the NHL will be taking a hard look at player protection.

You can check out the video footage of what happened below. It isn't until the mid-point of the video that you can actually see what happened. I won't warn the squeamish since it really isn't gory footage, and if you are that squeamish then you shouldn't be hitting the play button on a video titled, Selanne Suffers Freakish Skate Cut Injury

For those Vancouver Canucks fans who have been crossing their fingers, hoping Roberto Luongo would be making an appearance soon in the Canucks net, sorry to say that the wait is going to go on indefinitely. Luongo did not make the team's latest trip to Edmonton and was experiencing pain while making "dynamic movements". He is now back on the shelf again, and won't practice again until he is pain free. Right now the Canucks are listing Luongo's status as week to week, which, with a nagging groin injury, could turn into month to month in a worst case scenario. Luongo last played on November 22nd and had been enjoying a Vezina trophy caliber season up until that point.

This means that backup Curtis Sanford and AHL recruit Cory Schneider will continue to share the netminding duties until Luongo can make a full recovery. The Canucks have played decent hockey since Luongo went down, but they are going to have to bear down in the defensive zone if they want to keep their perch atop the Northwest division. Of course, if the Canucks are able to land prized free agent Mats Sundin that will certainly help.

There are a couple of positives about the Luongo injury. First of all it gave prospect Cory Schneider a chance to prove what he could do at the NHL level. Schneider has been dominant for Canucks' AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose, and there has been speculation by fans and media that Schneider, much like Carey Price in Montreal, was ready to make the jump to the big club. So far Schneider has been proving those optimists 100% correct. However, if the Canucks want to keep Schneider in their system he will be better off with the Moose where he will get much more playing time than he would as a backup to Luongo.

Another benefit of the Luongo injury is that it has allowed the team to bond, and given them confidence that they can be a good team without their star netminder. Critics of the Canucks had asserted that Luongo basically carried the whole team, and the Canucks wouldn't be able to compete in the event Luongo went down. Well, that even happened and the club has proven that they can still play decent hockey without him.

That being said, this team can't delude itself. Barring the acquisition of Sundin, they will start to slide in the standings if Luongo can't make it back soon. They can still be a playoff team without him, but with him they have a chance to be a Stanley Cup contender.