David Reinbacher will not play tonight for the Rocket

Tonight, the Laval Rocket play the last game of their season. Yesterday’s defeat has officially eliminated the club from the playoff race, so tonight’s game is all about fitness.

And clearly, that was the case for David Reinbacher: the Canadiens prospect won’t be in uniform tonight due to a minor injury. The same goes for Mitchell Stephens and Jayden Struble.

And that’s how the defenseman’s season comes to an end. He spent several months in Europe before arriving in Laval at the end of the season, where he played 11 games in the AHL.

Overall, he did really well. He collected two goals and five points, but above all, he showed that he’s a solid defenseman who quickly adapted to North American ice.

We don’t know the nature of Reinbacher’s injury, but Anthony Marcotte notes that the defender was solidly hit in the stripe on a double-check yesterday.

Is his injury from yesterday, does it have nothing to do with the double-check, or did yesterday’s action aggravate an injury he was already suffering? The question arises.

In Struble’s case, we know he played Tuesday with the Habs in a game that didn’t serve much purpose. Has he hidden his injury(like Arber Xhekaj) in order to continue proving himself in the NHL, or is it a recent injury? Again, we don’t know at the moment.

In short, it’s a shame to see the two young defensemen end their season this way, but we might as well not risk aggravating the boo-boos they’re carrying around in a game that doesn’t matter.

Making sure they’re okay for next year is the most important thing.

Prolongation

Joshua Roy won’t be in uniform either. He’s been suspended for today’s game because of an elbow he took yesterday.