Dobson elevating play amid Isles’ absences
Just three weeks ago, Noah Dobson was a healthy scratch.
Coach Barry Trotz sat the 21-year old defenseman for a mid-November game against the Lightning, saying: “Noah has been a little bit inconsistent. We allowed him to try and work through that a little bit.”
Lately, though, Dobson has been one of the most consistent things about the Islanders. Not only has he stayed in the lineup as his teammates were going down with COVID-19 and injuries — save for a lower-body injury that kept him out against the Rangers on Nov. 24 — but Dobson’s game has taken a major step forward.
He’s been a strong twoway presence, driving offense for the Islanders and coming up big to tie Sunday night’s game with a rocket past Marc-Andre Fleury with 2.3 seconds to go in regulation. The Islanders fell short in overtime against the Blackhawks, but in 26:14 of ice time — the second-straight game in which he has played a career-high in minutes — Dobson continued to show what he could do.
“Sometimes you’re forced to grow up really quick in tough situations and I think he has,” Trotz said. “He’s finding out that, ‘I don’t have to be guarded against Patrick Kane. I can play against a good player like Patrick Kane or [Jonathan] Toews, anybody like that.’ ”
Dobson’s goal on Sunday night was his first of the season and his second point in two games. He also picked up his fifth assist of the year in Saturday’s overtime loss against Detroit.
“I think I definitely had a few chances out there tonight,” Dobson said after the game Sunday. “I think just trying to focus on being hard in the D-zone and killing plays, and [trying] to get up on the play. Help the forwards out and create some offense.”
Dobson and Sebastian Aho have also played up top on the Islanders’ powerplay units. Up until Saturday, the team was struggling on the man-advantage, but it has netted three goals in two games since, with better puck movement and more chances going the Islanders’ way.
Trotz attributed the change in Dobson’s game to an uptick in both confidence and comprehension.
“He’s getting a better understanding of all those moments where risk and reward are balanced,” Trotz said. “A team like Chicago, it’s not necessarily what you get all the time, it’s what you leave them. If you leave them a turnover, they’re gonna transition and they’re gonna make you pay. That’s what he’s understanding much better.”