Carbo & Co. may enter playoffs without Koivu

[Habsfan84]

Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau might have been tempting the hockey gods this month when he talked about the health of his team.
"We've been healthy and I'm not going to apologize for that because we've worked at it," Carbonneau said.
"We've been giving our players days off and we've cut down on fatigue by rolling four lines and six defenceman."

While that strategy may ward off ailments brought about by fatigue, it doesn't prevent injuries by flying pucks or bruising checks.
The Canadiens go into the final week of the season with a fistful of question marks and the team may go to battle in the playoffs without captain Saku Koivu for the second time in three years.
Koivu was struck on the left foot by a shot from Ales Kotalik early in Friday night's game in Buffalo. He continued playing and assisted on Christopher Higgins' overtime winner.
X-rays taken Friday night didn't reveal any damage, but the foot was swollen Saturday morning and Koivu was scratched from that night's game in Toronto. He was on crutches when he boarded the team's charter flight back to Montreal Saturday night.
Koivu was due for more tests when the swelling goes down. He definitely will not play in any of the team's three remaining regular-season games and a decision on the playoffs will be made after a further assessment of the injury.
The best-case scenario is that he has a bruised foot and he should be ready to go in the playoffs after seven to 10 days of rest.
The worst-case scenario is if there's a fracture. That would put him out for a minimum of four weeks and he wouldn't be available before late in the second round of the playoffs.
Koivu is the team's fifth-leading scorer with 16 goals and 56 assists, but he has been his most productive down the stretch with six goals and 11 assists in his last 21 games.
Two years ago, Koivu helped the Canadiens win the first two games of their first-round playoff series in Carolina. The Canadiens were leading Game 3 when Justin Williams caught him in the eye with a stick. With Koivu out, the Hurricanes won the series in six games and went on to capture the Stanley Cup.
"Any time you lose your captain, it's going to have an effect," Higgins said after Saturday's 4-2 loss in Toronto. "We're just hoping he's back soon."
Koivu isn't the only cause for concern.
Mark Streit, the versatile forward/defenceman and power-play specialist, also took a shot off the foot Friday. He missed Saturday's game but his injury isn't as serious as Koivu's.
Defenceman Francis Bouillon took a shot off his right ankle Saturday and had to leave the game. It's the second time this season he has been hit on the same ankle.
Defenceman Mike Komisarek has missed the last four games with a hip injury, but he'll skate with conditioning guru Scott Livingston before the Canadiens' regular practice today.
And forward Guillaume Latendresse should be back on the ice after missing four games due to neck spasms.
The Habs are back in action tomorrow night in Ottawa and can wrap up first place in the Northeast Division if they pick up one point.