Noah Dobson left the ice bleeding Tuesday night after taking a puck to the jaw, and the Canadiens could only watch him go.
The 26-year-old defenseman crumpled to the ice against the Buffalo Sabres at home, face down, gloves pressed to his mouth.
Tony Marinaro reported that he got back up, bleeding, and made his way to the dressing room.
"That did not look good," Marinaro wrote. Nobody watching the replay was arguing.
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Whether he returns tonight is anyone's guess right now. So what does Montreal do if he doesn't?
The timing is brutal. Michael Matheson is already day-to-day with a lower-body issue and expected out until at least Oct. 14.
That left Martin St-Louis working without one of his regulars on the blue line before the opening faceoff. Losing a second one midgame would be a different level of headache.
A back-to-back in Washington makes Montreal's blue line problem worse
The Canadiens don't get a night to regroup. They're in Washington on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop, the second half of a back-to-back.
Lane Hutson has handled the puck-moving load with four assists. Behind him, Kaiden Guhle has dressed once this season and Adam Engstrom twice.
Dobson carries a $9,500,000 cap hit, seventh among NHL defensemen. Kent Hughes didn't pay that price for a third-pair luxury.
The return so far has been quiet, with one assist and a -2 rating through five games. Now the slow start is the least of anyone's worries.
If there's any doubt at all, he sits in Washington. Full stop.
Rushing a defenseman back on a back-to-back after a puck to the mouth is like driving on the donut spare because the exit looks close. It works until it doesn't.
Montreal sits at 2-2-1 and has surrendered 19 goals in five games. That's not a team with defensive depth to burn.
Buffalo is thin on the back end too, with Rasmus Dahlin day-to-day due to an upper-body issue.
And these two clubs meet again Saturday in Montreal. Four days is either plenty of time or nowhere near enough, depending on what the medical staff finds.
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Should the Canadiens sit Noah Dobson in Washington even if he says he's good to go?
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