Noah Dobson Needs To Be In For the Habs In Game 7
The Montreal Canadiens will be in a do-or-die situation for Game 7 on Sunday evening against the Tampa Bay Lightning. With that being said, the Canadiens need to make sure to have the best possible roster that they can have for their most important game of the season. Over the past week, defenseman Noah Dobson has progressed a lot from the upper-body injury to where he is now able to join his teammates for full practices. His presence in the lineup will only strengthen the Habs, and therefore they should put him into the lineup for Game 7.
Will we see Noah Dobson RETURN for Game 7 in Tampa? What’s your thoughts?#GoHabsGo #MontrealCanadiens #NHL #Injury #Game7 pic.twitter.com/jsy3uyps5t
— Habs Gazette. (@HabsGazette) May 2, 2026
Dobson has been out ever since he blocked a shot off the hand on April 11th against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and while the Habs said they would re-evaluate him two weeks later, they haven’t given any official timeline. The only thing that we have received is that there is progress every single day for the past week. However, it has gotten to the point where he looks as if he’d be ready to return to the lineup, as he was able to both travel with the team and go from just being on the ice before his teammates to practicing with them before Game 6 on Friday. On Saturday, they were unable to practice due to weather issues in the Tampa Bay area and therefore arrived late into the city ahead of tomorrow’s game, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Dobson make his return to the lineup, given the importance of the game.
Having Dobson in the lineup could take some serious pressure off someone like Mike Matheson, who has been starting to struggle from the back end by forcing plays that he wasn’t doing when the Habs’ top right-handed defenseman was in the lineup. He could also allow Alexandre Carrier to return to the 3rd pairing, where he can focus on being more of a penalty killer and have easier matchups for his skill set. Not to mention Dobson will surely take some of the load off both Matheson and Carrier in terms of blocking shots, which allows the Canadiens to block even more shots in this do-or-die game.
HABS best defensive metrics came when Dobson was paired with Hutson.
Dobson – Hutson
Matheson – Carrier
Guhle – Struble/XhekajEvery game Marty did that – Goals and assists by D rose.
Next game he split them up, shuffled, and goals+assists dropped. We all saw it repeatedly— 🏒Matt Britton⁷⁶ HABS 106 Pts. playoffs: 3-3 (@Matt_S_Britton) May 2, 2026
There is also the possibility that Kaiden Guhle goes down to the 3rd pairing instead of Carrier if the Habs decide to pair Dobson alongside Lane Hutson for a dominant puck possession pairing. The duo was phenomenal in the regular season when placed together, and they could potentially create much-needed offence in Game 7 that will help the Habs move on.
Overall, the part of Dobson’s game the Habs miss the most from his absence is just his ability to be in good position to prevent high-danger scoring chances from the opposition. While the Habs have done well without him for the most part, he should only make the defence stronger, which will help the Habs complete the upset against the Lightning, who most analysts predicted should win this series. In terms of who comes out of the lineup for him, it may be a hard decision to make, but the truth is Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble can be interchangeable when it comes to defence. However, Xhekaj’s edge on Struble in terms of physicality is something that could be very important for Game 7. Meanwhile, the other four defensemen would be too important to the Canadiens defensively to take out of the lineup.
If Dobson is ready to roll Sunday, I’m taking Struble out, not Xhekaj. Arber has morphed into a reliable, physically imposing d-man. His strength and ability to lay devastating hits gives him the edge over Struble, and the #Habs need that element on the ice.
— Kamal Panesar (@KamalPanesar) May 2, 2026
The Canadiens may not give him his full 23 minutes that he averaged during the regular season in Game 7, but he should still be able to give a solid 17-18 minutes for the Habs, which could be exactly what is needed from him. Besides, it is possible that the Lightning insert star defenseman Victor Hedman (who missed the last 1.5 months due to personal reasons but has been practicing) into the lineup in their most important game of the season as well. Although, Dobson will likely be a bigger impact for the Habs than Hedman for the Lightning given both their age and the length of time that they missed. This is why the Habs will need Dobson to be part of the lineup for Game 7 so that they have an edge.
Do you think the Habs will insert Dobson into the lineup on Sunday?
