MONTREAL — Since taking a developmental leap early last season, Noah Dobson has been a plug-and-play defenseman for the Islanders, playing more than 20 minutes a night in situations where it's needed.
So when it came time for the Islanders to defend a two-point lead against Buffalo on Saturday, it was no surprise that Dobson was suddenly taken out of the rotation in what ended up being a 3-0 win over the Sabers.
Dobson, who didn't see the ice for the final 6 minutes and 47 seconds of the game against Buffalo, finished the night with 17 minutes and 53 seconds of TOI, which was the only time he left the game last season with an injury. , which was the lowest recorded since April 2023. When he was in the third pair, he struggled growing up.
This is the first time this season he has played less than 20 minutes and the fourth time in the past two seasons that he has pitched a complete game.
This is the kind of response from the coaching staff after Dobson was on the ice scoring multiple times in the third period, including Friday's game against Washington, D.C., when that missed clearance led to Tom Wilson's tying goal. It seemed like a message.
“I hope it's just for one game,” Roy said. “We need Doby – and we've had those conversations with him. We want him to skate with the puck.
“The goal we allowed, the tying goal against Washington, I wanted to see him skate with the puck instead of moving it. I think he should be able to skate with the puck more freely and make plays like that.”
But if a larger message was being sent, Roy had no desire to broadcast it publicly.
“I felt like the guys in front of him were playing better hockey in that game, that’s all,” Roy said. “There’s nothing to this. I think about that game. [assistant coach] Tommy [Albelin] I thought the players were playing better than him. ”
Dobson turned into a star player in 2023-2024, but fell off somewhat early this season.
He has 10 points through the first 25 games of the season, but an empty-netter is his only goal and (along with the Islanders as a whole) they struggle to get going on the power play.
While the defense has made notable strides in the right direction, Dobson, who was particularly good on the ice a year ago, is posting a 48.57 goals-against-ice percentage at 5-on-5 this season.
We all know this is a flawed statistic, but the basic metric is that for a player with an expected goals percentage of 55.58 and a high-danger chance percentage of 55.77, according to Natural Stat Trick This indicates that it is particularly severe.
Still, his injuries, especially towards the end of games, have become so noticeable that he deserves to be questioned.
“We can continue to improve in all areas,” Dobson told the Post of the 5-on-6 situation. “Situations, games, players are used in different roles. Five-on-six is important. You have to work hard up front, box out well and focus on that. If I'm going to go out, I have to work. I'm always trying to improve in all areas. I don't think it's particularly an issue in my game, but I can get better. That’s for sure.”
It's hard to believe this will become a trend, as Grant Hatton, one of the defensemen who played late in Saturday's game, could be healthy as early as Tuesday's game against the Canadiens.
Still, it's worth watching.
“No, I think I had a pretty good game last game,” Dobson said when asked if he read that his ice time was suspended. “Of course, there are areas that we can improve on. Just try and work on them. In the last game, I was mostly happy with how I played.”
