Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson has no timetable for a return from the lower-body damage he suffered in Monday’s win over the Blue Jackets, the crew advised Stefen Rosner of The Hockey Information and NHL.com. Dobson needed to depart the competition after falling awkwardly whereas trying a verify on Columbus heart Cole Sillinger, though he skated off beneath his personal energy.
Dobson will probably be positioned on injured reserve sooner or later earlier than Friday’s sport in opposition to the Flyers, which is able to give them the roster area to recall an additional defenseman. Scott Mayfield figures to slip up right into a top-four position at even energy within the interim, whereas Ryan Pulock might see an uptick in ice time by taking Dobson’s spot on their prime power-play unit.
New York has didn’t preserve tempo within the wild-card race, sitting one sport under .500 and 7 factors again of the Bruins for the second Japanese Convention spot. The Athletic nonetheless gave the Isles a 17 p.c likelihood of rebounding and making up that floor with 36 video games remaining, however it will likely be a wrestle with their most beneficial defenseman set to overlook a number of weeks.
Dobson hits pause on his 2024-25 season with six targets, 18 assists, 24 factors and a minus-eight ranking over 46 appearances, translating to a 0.52 points-per-game charge that’s a pointy drop from final yr’s career-best 0.89. That may partially be defined by the Islanders’ dismal energy play, tied with the Geese for final within the league at 12.5 p.c. 24 of his 70 factors final season got here with a person benefit, however he’s on tempo for half that PP level whole this yr. Dobson stays the crew’s chief in common time on ice (24:01), pictures on objective (143) and takeaways (28), so it’s not all unhealthy for the 25-year-old.
Accidents haven’t but value Dobson important time in his six-year NHL profession, however that appears to alter now. He’s by no means missed greater than 4 video games in a single season as a result of a non-illness-related damage, however he might simply miss greater than twice that earlier than the Isles’ schedule pauses in early February for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The damage additionally is available in a contract yr for Dobson, who’s ticketed for a giant increase on his present $4M AAV as a pending restricted free agent. The 6’4″ righty has 143 factors in 203 video games over the lifetime of his present three-year bridge deal and can probably argue for no less than doubling his wage on a long-term deal.
