Martin St-Louis keeps David Reinbacher out against Capitals after Canadiens recall

David Reinbacher won't dress tonight in Washington. But Martin St-Louis just made it clear he'd have no problem changing that.

The Canadiens coach said Wednesday he'd be “very comfortable” putting Reinbacher in the lineup if necessary. Coaches don't toss around that kind of endorsement by accident.

And the timing is loaded. Montreal is on the back end of a back-to-back, with puck drop tonight against the Capitals. Adam Engstrom didn't play a good game, so the recall makes sense.

Last night's 4-3 shootout win over Buffalo pushed the streak to two. Both of those wins needed a shootout, which tells you how thin the margins have been.

The record reads 3-2-1. The goal differential sits at -3, and that's a team banking points it probably shouldn't have.

Now look at the blue line. Michael Matheson is listed day-to-day with a lower-body injury, expected out until at least Oct. 14.

That's today. Nobody connected those dots publicly on Wednesday, but fans in Montreal will do it for them.

Matheson injury puts the Canadiens blue line under the microscope

The healthy bodies haven't made this an easy call. Noah Dobson, carrying a $9,500,000 cap hit, has one assist through six games.

He's also a -2. Matheson went minus-3 over his five games before the injury designation hit.

Arber Xhekaj has yet to register a point. Kaiden Guhle has dressed just twice, and Adam Engstrom three times.

Lane Hutson is doing the heavy lifting with 6 points, including a power play goal. Strip him out and the offensive output from the back end gets awfully quiet.

Alexandre Carrier owns the only game-winning goal on the entire roster. He's a +3, the one steady number in a group that's been leaking.

So where does Reinbacher fit?

St-Louis didn't say. He didn't have to. It's the hockey version of a baseball manager telling a reliever to start throwing in the bullpen while the starter is still on the mound.

Here's the problem with that quote. Praising a player you won't dress is a strange way to manage a locker room, and every defenseman in that room heard it.

The injury list was already crowded. Ivan Demidov is on injured reserve until at least Oct. 31, and Samuel Montembeault is out until at least Oct. 20.

That leaves Jacob Fowler, sitting at a .908 save percentage with a shutout already on his ledger, and Jakub Dobes at .856.

Washington isn't fresh either. Spencer Carbery's Capitals dropped a 4-2 decision in Carolina last night, their second straight loss.

They're 2-1-0 at home. This is the first meeting between the two clubs this season.

Buffalo visits Montreal on Saturday. If Matheson still isn't ready by then, “if necessary” stops being a hypothetical.

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