Canadiens Recall David Reinbacher; Place Josh Anderson On IR

Shortly before the puck dropped in last night’s contest against the Colorado Avalanche, the Montreal Canadiens ruled out defenseman Mike Matheson with a lower-body injury. While traveling to New York to face the Rangers, the Canadiens announced they recalled defenseman David Reinbacher to fill in for Matheson.

Although Montreal hasn’t confirmed it, Matheson likely had a setback from his recent injury. The 12-year veteran recently missed a little over two weeks with a lower-body injury from late October to mid-November. He returned on November 12th against the Boston Bruins, registering one assist while playing in 21:11 of action.

In addition to missing tomorrow’s original six matchup against the Rangers, Matheson will likely miss the next two after New York, against the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reported that Matheson will not travel with the club for their three-game road trip. Montreal returns home next Saturday to take on the Philadelphia Flyers.

Furthermore, Lavoie reported that the Canadiens have placed Josh Anderson on injured reserve to make room for Reinbacher’s call-up. Anderson is apparently dealing with an upper-body injury from last night. He did not leave the contest, but he finished with a season-low ice time of 10:46. The veteran winger will likely be followed on the injured reserve by Chris Kreider, who was recently ruled out for the next six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury.

Meanwhile, it’s Reinbacher’s second recall of the 2026-27 campaign. During his first call-up in October, Reinbacher went scoreless in his lone appearance, skating in 9:09 of action. Playing in the AHL with the Laval Rocket, Reinbacher has registered three goals and seven points in 15 games this season with a +9 rating.