Ahead of their morning skate on Wednesday, New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson was back on the ice, skating by himself.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- Ahead of their morning skate on Wednesday, New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson was back on the ice, skating by himself.
Dobson will miss his third straight game, really his fourth, on Wednesday after suffering an upper-body injury just 5:33 into their game against the Montreal Canadiens last Thursday.
The 24-year-old would be a key loss if he isn't ready to go for the start of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes, but the fact that he is on the ice and has been able to take it easy for what will be over a week before Game 1 is a positive.
While New York has fill-ins on defense, with Sebastian Aho and Samuel Bolduc as backup options, Dobson has been in the Norris conversation the entire season, posting 10 goals and 60 assists for 70 points in 79 games, averaging a career-high 24:31 minutes per game.
Although the Islanders power play has been mediocre as of late, Dobson is key to the top unit getting the job done.
As we saw against the Hurricanes last postseason, special teams was the name of the game, with the Islanders only coming through once on 18 tries.
Dobson, who struggled in that series a year ago, has a career-high 23 assists on the power play this season and was the main reason the power play was clicking earlier in the season.
The Hurricanes will not be an easy matchup for the Islanders and Dobson, if healthy, will need to play to the level he's shown for most of the season if New York is going to come out on top.
We will keep you updated as we learn more.