Habs lose a player to Covid protocol just one day before the Stanley Cup Final.

The Montreal Canadiens have just made an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final in spite of being the lowest seeded team in the entire playoff bracket when this all began, but just when you thought the deck couldn't be even more stacked against them it now appears as though the Habs will have to overcome overwhelming odds once again.

On Sunday the Canadiens announced that veteran forward Joel Armia had entered the National Hockey League's covid protocol, a devastating bit of news for a team to drop just one day prior to the start of the aforementioned Cup Final. We don't have a full picture yet of just what the situation is with Armia, but we can assure you that this is not good in the least. Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin would go on to add that Armia will not be traveling with the Canadiens to Tampa Bay when they start off this series on Monday, a sign that Armia may be forced to miss significant time in this series.

To say that Armia has been outstanding so far in these playoffs for the Canadiens would be an understatement. Armia has been a part of a 4th line, alongside veterans Eric Staal and Corey Perry, that has produced huge results for the Canadiens at critical moments throughout the playoffs and obviously the option to deploy that trio will be off the table with Armia out of the lineup. Over his 17 appearances in the playoffs thus far Armia has recorded 5 goals and 3 assists for a combined 8 points and is a +4 in the playoffs overall.

What will make this all the more frustrating for the Canadiens is that all of their players have been vaccinated and have taken extreme precautions during these playoffs to avoid any potential infections. Even more unlucky for the Habs is the fact that Armia had already contracted the virus in the past, was vaccinated against it, and now appears to have flagged the protocol somehow in spite of all that. Armia tested positive back in March during the NHL's regular season, a positive test that forced the Canadiens out of action for several days and forced some of their games to be rescheduled.

The Canadiens expect to have an update on Armia's situation on Monday.