The Montreal Canadiens said Sunday morning they’ll know more about the status of injured defenceman Noah Dobson within two days.
Dobson, who averaged the third-highest ice time (22 minutes 29 seconds) on the team this season behind Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson, is out with an upper-body injury after blocking a shot with his left hand in a 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 11.
The Canadiens announced the following day that Dobson would be re-evaluated in two weeks, ruling him out for at least the beginning of the playoffs.
Montreal has managed well in the first round despite the major hole on the blue line, building a 2-1 series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning heading into Game 4 on Sunday night at the Bell Centre.
Alexandre Carrier, as the only right-shot blueliner in the lineup, moved up to the top pairing alongside Mike Matheson to replace Dobson.
Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj have also provided steady minutes on the third pair with the Canadiens holding a high-octane Lightning offence to five even-strength goals in three overtime games to begin the series.
"We have good depth, and we've never made excuses when we've lost a guy,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said Saturday. “We always give an opportunity to someone else, next man up, and I think the guys who get the opportunity usually raise their game and it helps push the group.
“And when you get back to good health, your group is even better because the guys have had those repetitions.”
Dobson, a 26-year-old from Summerside, P.E.I., had 12 goals and 47 points in 80 games this season, his first in Montreal after being acquired from the New York Islanders last summer and signing an eight-year, US$76-million extension.
DAY-TO-DAY D’ASTOUS
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said defenceman Charle-Edouard D'Astous (undisclosed) would not play in Game 4.
“I would sit here and say day-to-day after that,” Cooper added. “But then aren't we all?”
D'Astous, a 28-year-old from Rimouski, Que., hasn’t played since taking a high hit from Canadiens forward Josh Anderson in Game 1.
'BY FAR' THE LOUDEST
Canadiens defenceman Jayden Struble said there’s no question the Bell Centre is the loudest building in the NHL. A couple friends from a rival city confirmed as much.
"I had buddies here for the last game, and they're from Boston,” said Struble, of Cumberland, R.I. “They're like, it's night and day, 10 times louder than the TD Garden.
"That last game, just waiting for the anthems, and I mean everyone's smiling, just soaking it in."
MOVING ON
Kirby Dach didn’t dwell on the mistakes that cost the Canadiens in Game 2. He also plans to move forward after going from zero to hero with a goal and an assist in Game 3.
“Tuesday night, you turn the page, you're not looking back, you're not worrying about that. If you kind of let that sit in you, and you sulk in it, and you revel in it, you're going to let it affect the next thing,” the Canadiens forward said Sunday morning. “It was about moving on and doing what I needed to do to get ready for Game 3, and it's the same thing after Friday night. Yesterday was a new day, today's a new day.”
