The Montreal Canadiens' 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs run has some ahead of schedule. Say what you like about the "in the mix" comments at the start of the year, but no one thought Montreal would make the playoffs and challenge the top seed in a seven-game series. The team has a first powerplay with the oldest player coming in at 25 years old, which says a lot about the team's youth movement. It's nothing but positivity about the experience the youth is getting this postseason, and Martin St. Louis has the chance to give one more top prospect an opportunity.
The Canadiens have nothing to lose when they travel to Washington for Game 5. Win and you get to return to the best home-ice advantage in the NHL with a chance to force a Game 7. Lose and you go home with some playoff experience, with a legitimate chance to return next season and challenge for a Stanley Cup. This season will be a success regardless, so why not give David Reinbacher his first NHL game?
Another angle of Tom Wilson's hit on #Habs Alexandre Carrier, who just left for the locker room with trainer. He had been sitting on the bench since the hit with an ice pack on back of his neck. https://t.co/R86Dv81J7M
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) April 28, 2025
The Canadiens are already short on right-shot defense, and rolling out a lineup with David Savard as your only right-shot with five left-shot defensemen is a recipe for disaster. Reinbacher's season was cut short by injuries, as he played just ten games since returning from the knee injury at training camp. However, he has been looking good in a limited sample size. He will likely challenge for a spot next season if some of the pending UFAs don't return (we already know Savard won't), and this could be an early try-out of sorts.
Maybe he'll struggle, but that isn't an indictment of his game. Making your NHL debut in a must-win game in the playoffs isn't easy. The positive he'll get out of the experience is to feel playoff pressure before playing a regular season game. If Reinbacher does make the team next year, he'll likely be in the lineup for Game 1 of the 2026 playoffs. Why not give him his first game so he can enter that game with at least some idea of what to expect?
And that's talking as if the Canadiens have already lost Game 5. Who's to say Reinbacher doesn't become an X-Factor immediately and help lead Montreal back into the series? If Montreal wins Game 5, it's tough to see them lose Game 6 at home. It's time for St. Louis and Kent Hughes to make a bold move, and you could expect that to come depending on Alexandre Carrier's status.