On Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens might have lost more than just the game as defenseman Noah Dobson left in the second period with a hand injury. Now with only two games left in the regular season, the Canadiens' blueline has huge questions with the playoffs right around the corner.
The play in question was in the second period when Dobson went to block a shot that hit off his thumb. He immediately went to the locker room and did not return for the third period.
After the game, TSN's Eric Engels noted that there were only three players who had their equipment still in their lockers: Alexandre Carrier, Patrik Laine, and Dobson. This is a big indication that none of these players will be playing on the two-game road trip to close out the season.
The Canadiens still have plenty to play for over these final two games as they are tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division and only two points back of the Buffalo Sabres for first place. However, having as many players healthy and ready for Game 1 is probably more important at this point.
Montreal Canadiens now face lineup challenges without Noah Dobson
For Dobson, the severity of the injury is unknown, but Montreal looks to be taking a cautious approach. It creates some challenges, though, as the Canadiens currently have no healthy right-handed defenseman, as Dobson and Carrier were the team's only two.
They did call up Adam Engstrom last week, and while he is a left-handed defenseman has spent the majority of his time on the right side. Whether they make another move before Sunday's game, like call up David Reinbacher, will depend on Kaiden Guhle, as he has missed the past three games.
Noah Dobson has been the team's second best-defenseman behind Lane Hutson this season and he will miss his first game of the season on Sunday if all indications are true. He is third on the team in ice time and has 47 points but the area the Canadiens will certainly miss him the most is his ability to get in shooting lanes. He leads the team in shot blocking with 188, 33 more than the next player.
Even though he will be missed on this road trip, hopefully he is able to return in times for the playoffs because the Canadiens are going to have a tough time replacing him in this lineup.