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Montreal Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson will miss the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs after suffering an upper-body injury in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team announced Sunday that Dobson will be re-evaluated in two weeks, ruling him out for at least the early part of the postseason.
Dobson injured his left hand while blocking a Zach Werenski slap shot during the second period and did not return to the game. His absence is a significant blow to the Canadiens’ blue line.
Defenceman Lane Hutson expressed concern after the game. “It sucks, we’re worried about him for sure and he’s such a big part of our team,” Hutson said. “He plays big minutes for us, plays against the top competition, shuts down some really high-end players on the other side and pitches in pretty good offensively, too. He does it all for us. A lot of the little things he does go unnoticed, but not by our group.”
Dobson has averaged the third-most ice time on the playoff-bound Canadiens this season, logging 22 minutes and 29 seconds per game behind Mike Matheson and Hutson. The 26-year-old from Summerside, P.E.I., has 12 goals and 47 points in 80 games this year, his first with Montreal after being acquired from the New York Islanders last summer. He also recently signed an eight-year, $76-million US extension.
Tall and tough at six-foot-four and 200 pounds, Dobson often takes on the Canadiens’ toughest defensive assignments alongside Matheson. He leads the NHL in blocked shots, with 188, including the one that sidelined him. Head coach Martin St. Louis praised Dobson’s all-around game: “He plays big minutes, great on breakout, transition, he kind of can do it all. I was surprised that he leads the league in blocked shots, which was another element, so he brings a lot.”
In response to Dobson’s injury, the Canadiens recalled defenceman David Reinbacher from their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, ahead of Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders. Reinbacher, a fifth overall draft pick in 2023, has five goals and 24 points through 57 AHL games this season. He is recovering from a knee injury that caused him to miss much of the 2024-25 season.
At 21 years old, the Austrian defenceman has yet to make his NHL debut but is now the only healthy right-shot defenceman on the Canadiens’ roster. Alexandre Carrier remains sidelined with an upper-body injury expected to keep him out for two to four weeks, while left-shot defenceman Kaiden Guhle has missed three straight games due to maintenance.
Montreal sits third in the Atlantic Division with two regular-season games remaining before the Stanley Cup playoffs begin next Saturday.
