In addition to his fractured hand and groin injuries, Alzner has also dealt with a broken finger, a banged up hip flexor, and a seriously-elongated oblique muscle. But it's actually the flu bug that has given him the worst headaches.
Nothing as bad as when former Habs forward Mark Recchi saw a 570-game streak shelved due to pneumonia in December 1998, of course, but Alzner can nevertheless recall the time he wondered if he would ever be able to get out of bed.
"I remember one of my toughest games to get up for was in Chicago. I got sick in the middle of the night, at around 2:00 a.m., and couldn't hold anything down. We had an 11:30 a.m. start the next day, and I just forced myself to get right back into it," described the 6-foot-3 blue-liner, who played 22 shifts totalling 18:13 of ice time on that February night in 2016. "At the time, we were the two top teams in the League, and I couldn't miss such a big game. It happens, and it's up to you to decide what you do.
"I don't lead by scoring goals and that kind of stuff. I try to lead by example with heart, and that's the only way I can handle that."
On Thursday in Buffalo, Alzner will make his Canadiens debut while suiting up for a 541st-consecutive game. In NHL history, only two other defenseman have gone on for more: Jay Bouwmeester (737) and Keith Yandle (633).
Neither boasted a reputation for laying it all on the line quite like Alzner, however.
After all, the former Capitals D-man blocked 162 shots and dished out 105 hits in 2016-17, far surpassing his sturdy counterparts at 111 and 67, respectively, for Bouwmeester, and 76 and 28 for Yandle.