Alexandre Carrier’s Injury: The Door Could Open for David Reinbacher

Mathis Therrien
Alexandre Carrier’s Injury: The Door Could Open for David Reinbacher
Credit: Capture d'écran Twitter

The Montreal Canadiens lost the game last night, but they also lost Alexandre Carrier, who retreated to the locker room in the second period after being shoved hard into the boards by Egor Chinakhov.

The Quebec-born defenseman did not return to the game afterward, missing nearly half of the contest.

He looked like he was in a lot of pain, and let's just say we have every right to be concerned.

This would truly be a major loss for the Habs, who have only two right-handed defensemen on their roster: Noah Dobson and Alexandre Carrier.

If #45—who was off to a superb start to the season—ends up getting injured and missing a few games, the Habs will have no choice but to bring in a right-handed defenseman to avoid playing with five left-handers and only one right-hander.

Adam Engstrom is the available backup defenseman, but he's a left-handed player who can play on the right side—and therefore isn't a natural right-hander.

That's where the door could really open for David Reinbacher, who's already doing an excellent job in Laval.

My colleague Raphael Simard mentioned this last night—we could very well see Reinbacher in Montreal as early as Tuesday if Alexandre Carrier were to miss at least one game.

The Austrian defenseman could therefore go from playing for the Rocket to a spot among the Canadiens' top four in the NHL in a matter of days, while Carrier was playing alongside Lane Hutson.

We knew Reinbacher would be the top choice for a defensive call-up, but we certainly didn't expect to be discussing this possibility after just two games.

In short, we'll be keeping a very close eye on Carrier's condition between now and Tuesday, though of course we hope his injury isn't too serious and that he can return to action as soon as possible.

And if he has to miss a few games, Reinbacher will have a great opportunity to prove himself—potentially alongside Lane Hutson—and in front of his fans at the Bell Centre for the season opener.


In a Nutshell

– Read this.

– It's a significant loss that the Wild need to fill.

– He's doing a great job.

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