Just two days after beating the in-state rivals New York Rangers in the latest installment of the Battle of New York, even if it took a couple of “vicious” hits to get there, the New York Islanders lost something much bigger.
In their game against the Montreal Canadiens played on Thursday, April 11, No. 1 defenseman Noah Dobson suffered an upper-body injury and was ruled out for the game, one the Islanders won 3-2 in overtime thanks to a goal by Kyle Palmieri.
Not much going on here but they’re saying Noah Dobson left the game after this play.
Dobson suffered his injury before reaching the halfway point of the first period, leaving his team with five available defensemen for the remainder of the contests and thus forcing his teammates to log rather bulky time on ice against the lowly Canadiens right before the postseason.
Islanders head coach Patrick Roy vaguely confirmed the nature of Dobson’s injury post-game.
“It’s an upper-body injury,” Roy told reporters in his postgame press conference on April 11, via SNY. “We’ll have a better idea [on Friday] how things are.”
Dobson’s absence for any length of time could end the Islanders’ hopes for a deep postseason run as the young defender has been the best blueliner of the team this season and he’s also taken on quarterback duties when the team finds itself in power-play situations.
New York Islanders Won’t Go Far Without Noah Dobson
Dobson, who is a key member of the Islanders’ defense, could only log three shifts on the April 11 game against the Canadiens. He left the contest totaling 1:28 of ice time before never returning to the ice.
This season, Dobson ranks second on the Islanders with 70 points, including 10 goals and 60 assists. His average ice time per game is just shy of 25 minutes, which speaks volumes of his importance to the team and its late-season resurgence.
The nature and severity of Dobon’s injury were not immediately clear after the game. Those details have not emerged on April 12, with a few hours before the puck drop at many games on the day’s slate but none of those involving the Islanders.
It appeared Dobson might have sustained his injury following a collision with a pair of Canadiens forwards, although there is no clarity about it at this point.
The Isles will face the Rangers for the second time this week on Saturday, April 13, at Madison Square Garden with the puck drop scheduled for 12:30 pm ET.
Islanders Struggled Without Noah Dobson On the Ice
The Islanders felt the impact of Dobson’s absence during the game in which he suffered the injury even facing a lesser opponent in the Montreal Canadiens.
Dobson’s absence was particularly felt on the Isles’ power play, which failed to convert on four opportunities.
Coach Roy discussed his team’s woes on those man-advantage periods following the overtime win.
“[Losing Dobson] kind of affected our power play,” Roy told reporters. “But you don’t want to lose someone that early, especially a defenseman.”
With Dobson out virtually from the start of Thursday’s game, the team relied heavily on the rest of the available defensemen, all five of them. Only Alexander Romanov (20:48) logged fewer than 22:27 ice time with Ryan Pulock topping all D-men with 24:47.
“He’s obviously extremely important to this team,” Adam Pelech said of Dobson after the game, per Rachel Luscher of NHL.com. “He’s been having a great year for us, so it’s tough to lose him so early. But the whole team they really did a good job of picking up the slack.”
Following the victory over Montreal, an Islanders win in regulation or OT against the Rangers, paired with losses (also in regulation or OT) by Washington and Detroit would clinch a berth for the Isles this season.
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Islanders’ Noah Dobson’s Return Date Unknown Following Injury