Official: Noah Dobson will not play tonight

The CH will play Game 6 of the series tonight, which they lead 3-2.

At stake in this game: a ticket to the second round.

Noah Dobson will not play. The signs were encouraging, though.

Noah Dobson will not play. Adam Engstrom is the extra defenseman for warm-ups.

— Anthony Marcotte (@anthonymarcotte) May 1, 2026

This morning, the defenseman was taking good shots and seemed ready for the game.

A few hours ago, Pierre LeBrun had even put his chances of playing at 50%. So it was the wrong 50% that won out.

The Canadiens, who already hold the lead over Tampa Bay, will be without Dobson. Their opponents are without Victor Hedman, but they'll have Charles-Edouard D'Astous back, who was the victim of a hard hit by Josh Anderson early in the series. Nick Paul will play in the game after missing Wednesday's game (due to illness).

Will Dobson and Hedman be in uniform on Sunday, assuming a Game 7 takes place, of course? In the event that Dobson returns on Sunday or even in the next round, which defenseman will be dropped from the lineup? The obvious answer is Jayden Struble… unless MSL decides to use seven defensemen. That's a possibility, too.

One thing is certain: LeBrun thinks the Habs are being extra cautious with their right-handed player.

Charles D'Astous is back in the lineup for Tampa.
Noah Dobson is not on the ice for Montreal. He's getting closer; I was told it was 50-50 for tonight, but I'm not surprised the Canadiens would want to be as cautious as possible before giving him the green light to return.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 1, 2026

Martin St-Louis will make no changes to his lineup.

Jakub Dobes remains the starting goaltender, Adam Engstrom is the only extra player, and the forward lines and defensive pairs will stay the same.

Overtime

Dobson had a strong first season with the Habs, and I'm sure he's eager to make his playoff debut with his new team.

In addition to his 47 points in 80 games, he finished second in the NHL among players with the most blocked shots, with 188.