Montreal Canadiens call up Reinbacher to NHL roster

The Montreal Canadiens have added David Reinbacher to their NHL roster.

The NHL record champions are reacting to an injury to defenseman Mike Matheson, who is currently sidelined with an undisclosed lower-body injury.

Since defenseman Jayden Struble was recently traded to the Nashville Predators for a second-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, the Canadiens only had six available defensemen in their lineup.

Back to Laval after strong preseason

Reinbacher had been sent to the AHL farm team, the Laval Rocket, at the end of September, after a strong preseason in Montreal.

There, the 21-year-old Vorarlberg native was deployed in the first defensive pairing in all four of the season's games so far, recording two assists and a plus/minus rating of +3.

Last April, the Austrian celebrated his NHL debut against the New York Islanders. Two days later, he also took to the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers before returning to play for Laval during the AHL playoffs.

The Canadiens are in action overnight into Thursday against the Washington Capitals (1:30 AM). It is not yet certain whether Reinbacher will play there against Alexander Ovechkin and co.