The New York Islanders earned their biggest win of the season on Thursday night, improving their hold on the No. 3 spot in the Metropolitan Division after beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in overtime. But it may have come at the cost of Noah Dobson — the team’s best defenseman.
Dobson left the game just over five minutes into the first period and didn’t return. Isles coach Patrick Roy confirmed it’s an upper-body injury after the victory, adding “we’ll have a better idea [Friday] how things are,” per the New York Post’s Ethan Sears.
The Summerside, Prince Edward Island native is in the midst of a breakout campaign, amassing 70 points over 79 games in 2023-24. He’s been a rock on the back end for the team all year long, and any absence would be monumental to the team’s hopes of a deep postseason run.
Another update on Dobson should be provided by Roy at some point on Friday. The team’s powerplay went 0-for-4 without its quarterback, which the bench boss attributed to the lack of the star blue liner’s presence.
“It kind of affected our power play,” said the head coach afterwards. “But you don’t want to lose someone that early, especially a defenseman. We played five [defensemen], [Sebastian Aho] came in and he played a great game and I thought all the guys did a really nice job taking those minutes.”
Although Isles fans will be holding their breath for a Noah Dobson update, the silver lining was the massive W secured on Thursday in Long Island.
Kyle Palmieri scores biggest goal of Islanders’ season
Despite Dobson’s unfortunate injury, the Isles were able to secure an absolutely critical two points on Thursday. And it was Kyle Palmieri scoring the winner from a sharp angle, helping New York improve its unbeaten streak to six games.
That’s the longest current win streak in the NHL, and it came at just the perfect time for Roy’s club.
The Islanders also got some revenge on a Canadiens team that had beaten them twice in 2023-24 entering Thursday. Despite trailing 2-1 in the third period, Casey Cizikas was able to knot things up before Palmieri came through with the clutch GWG in the extra frame.
“It’s a good feeling,” Palmieri said after scoring the team’s biggest goal of the year, per Sears. “We battled. … We built our game and just stayed with it. Just found a way.”
The Islanders improved to 37-27-15 with the critical victory, and now have a three-point cushion on the Pittsburgh Penguins, who also won on Thursday.
Still, New York controls its own fate with just three games left. They need to win two of those to secure third-place in the Metropolitan Division. That could mean a Round 1 rematch against the Carolina Hurricanes, who beat the Islanders in six games last year.
But still more work to do in Long Island, and the final three contests — against the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins — will be a whole lot harder if Noah Dobson is unable to suit up.
It’ll be a little matinee hockey between the Islanders and Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon.
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