The Habs are off for the next two days so they’re allowing a pair of youngsters to get in a game with Laval in the meantime. The team announced Wednesday that they’ve assigned David Reinbacher and Owen Beck to Laval.
Beck had been up with Montreal for a little more than a week and a half to backfill against injuries to Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen, and Florian Xhekaj. Though Kapanen has since returned, Beck remained on the roster for the last two games as a healthy scratch.
Beck has suited up twice for the Canadiens this season and was held off the scoresheet in both (though he hit the post on a shot in Pittsburgh). He also has four games with the Rocket where he was off to a quiet start, collecting just one assist. Prior to his recall, he had been skating on the second line with Sasha Pastujov and Sam Poulin and could find himself back with that trio, moving Filip Mesar down the lineup.
As for Reinbacher, he was brought up last week when Mike Matheson was sidelined but has only made one appearance, that coming in Saturday’s overtime victory over Buffalo. It was only his third NHL game of his young career. The blueliner has two assists and 14 penalty minutes through four outings with the Rocket. He was partnered with Luke Mittelstadt and will likely be back with him while on assignment.
Laval is in action tonight against Syracuse as they look to extend their five-game winning streak. Playing in this contest will make both Beck and Reinbacher recall-eligible once again.
It wouldn’t be shocking if these are one-and-done moves. With the Canadiens embarking on a four-game road trip that begins in Chicago on Friday, it would make sense for Montreal to have some extra healthy bodies for that trip. It could be Beck and Reinbacher getting the recall once again as early as Thursday or the team could bring others up as well, especially if it’s deemed that whoever gets the promotion is likely to sit. It likely won’t be too long before we know which direction they go on that front.