The Montreal Canadiens and head coach Martin St. Louis have some decisions to make in the crease. Samuel Montembeault was expected to be the starting netminder this season, which he has done thus far. However, he has been inconsistent at times. With rookie Jakub Dobes performing so well to begin his career, many wonder if Dobes should be given the starter’s role. The team has shut that down though by starting Montembeault on Tuesday against Tampa and now against Detroit on Thursday. He performed well against the Lightning recording 33 saves in a 3-2 win. However, if Dobes continues to dominate, the Canadiens will have to make a decision in goal. Let’s take a look at the Montreal Canadiens goalie situation.
Montreal Canadiens Goalie Debate
Jakub Dobes Strong Play
With the struggles of Cayden Primeau, 23-year-old Jakub Dobes was given his first taste of NHL action. Primeau was sent down to Laval while Dobes was recalled to Montreal. Primeau has always performed well in the minors but has never found his footing at the NHL level. Dobes on the other hand has thrived to begin his career. He has gone 5-0 with a 1.55 GAA and a .941% save percentage. This includes a shutout in his NHL debut over the cup-champion Florida Panthers and wins over Dallas, Colorado, Washington, and the Rangers.
This level of play has put Dobes in the conversation to replace Montembeault as the team’s starter. At the very least, the Canadiens need to consider giving Dobes more starts. Dobes was originally brought in to relieve Montembeault’s workload. Primeau hadn’t started in 10 straight games leading up to his demotion.
Samuel Montembeault’s Inconsistencies
Samuel Montembeault took over the starter role to begin this season. He replaced Jake Allen when he was traded to the New Jersey Devils at last year’s deadline. This is the first time in Montembeault’s career that he has gone into a campaign as the team’s starter. While he has performed admirably, especially down the stretch, he has had some inconsistencies. A perfect example of this would be his 48-save shutout against the Leafs followed by only allowing one goal to Ottawa. He would then rifle off three straight losses allowing 3 or more goals in each.
Montembeault has a 2.95 GAA and a .899% save percentage for the year. While those numbers don’t look great on paper, it’s important to note the Canadiens struggles to begin the year and the workload he was forced to face due to Primeau’s poor play. Still, Montembeault’s play has earned him a spot on Team Canada’s four-nations roster in February. He likely will begin the tournament as the team’s third-string goalie. However, if he is in good form heading into the competition he may get a look for a higher role.
Verdict for Montreal Canadiens
While Jakub Dobes’ play has been spectacular in his young career, it is still a small sample size. It’s important to note that he is playing in his first NHL season at only 23 years old, in the pressure cooker that is Montreal no less. His play has warranted him more games but expect Montembeault to get the bulk of the starts in the near future. The team’s recent actions have shown that they have full faith in Samuel Montembeault. With that being said, Dobes has come in and done exactly what was expected of him which is relieving Montembeault’s workload.
His play has taken some of the pressure off of Montembeault and we are seeing the fruits of it as he put up a stellar performance against the Lightning. For the time being, he will remain the starter but Dobes has come in and created some healthy competition. We could eventually see Dobes push for a starter role or at least split starts down the stretch. The team is in the playoff hunt and the Montreal Canadiens goalie situation will be a big part of that moving forward.
Main Photo by Ron Chenoy- Imagn Images
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