It looks like David Reinbacher is close to playing hockey again.
The Canadiens announced Thursday morning that Reinbacher has officially been loaned to the AHL’s Laval Rocket. The 21-year-old defenceman, selected with the fifth overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft, hasn’t played since suffering a broken metacarpal bone in his hand during a 7-2 pre-season loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on Sept 25. At the time, the Canadiens said Reinbacher would be sidelined for four weeks.
“His rehabilitation is going very, very well,” Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent told TVA Sports on Monday. “He’s skating, he’s training, and we should see him soon.
“He’s around the team and takes part in meetings,” Vincent added. “He’s even going on the ice, so things are moving along well. We’re seeing progress in his case. So I think things are going well under the circumstances. It’s been a month and a day (Monday) since he got injured. So he’s progressing just as the doctors had planned.”
The Rocket have a 5-3-0 record and will be back in action Friday when the Rochester Americans visit Place Bell in Laval (7 p.m., RDS) and Reinbacher is expected to make his season debut. The two teams will play again at 3 p.m. Saturday in Laval.
Last season Reinbacher suffered an injury to his left knee during a pre-season game against the Maple Leafs that required surgery and he was sidelined for five months. Reinbacher ended up playing 10 regular-season games with the Rocket, posting 2-3-5 totals, and then had 2-4-6 totals in 13 playoff games.
On Wednesday night the Canadiens announced that forward Joshua Roy and defenceman Marc Del Gaizo had been returned to the Rocket. Roy only played one game with the Canadiens on their four-game road trip that wrapped up with a 4-3 overtime win over the Kraken in Seattle on Tuesday night. Del Gaizo didn’t play any games after getting called up for the road trip.
The Canadiens practised Thursday morning at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard but forwards Brendan Gallagher and Kirby Dach didn’t take part. Both took therapy days.
The Canadiens, who were in first place in the Atlantic Division after Tuesday’s win over the Kraken with an 8-3-0 record, will be back in action Saturday when the Ottawa Senators visit the Bell Centre (7 p.m., SN1, TVA Sports).
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis announced after practice that Samuel Montembeault will start in goal against the Senators despite having a 2-3 record, a 3.82 goals-against average and a .842 save percentage. Jakub Dobes started the last two games, winning both to improve his record to 6-0 with a 1.97 GAA and a .930 save percentage.
“Sam didn’t forget how to play in the net,” St. Louis told reporters.
St. Louis added that the fact Dobes has played so well has given Montembeault time to work on his game.
“He’s an excellent goalie and he will play Saturday,” St. Louis said about Montembeault, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Thursday.
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