The Montreal Canadiens hoped that bringing Jacob Fowler up and sending Samuel Montembeault down to the AHL for a conditioning stint would sort out their goaltending issues, and for a time, it looked like it might have worked. Still, the wheels are starting to come off the wagon again.
After the Habs’ heartbreaking loss to the Boston Bruins, Martin St-Louis was asked whether he felt Montembeault was again fragile, and he replied:
No, no, I don’t think so. Listen, the last goal, the puck’s direction changes…No, I don’t think so.
– St-Louis on whether Montembeault seemed fragile lately
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While the puck might have changed direction, the cold, hard facts remain: the coach decided to use Montembeault for two crucial divisional matchups in a row, and in both games, his save percentage was below .815. Whatever the context, that number is just not good enough. On the season, the Becancour native has a 9-8-2 record with a 3.46 GAA and a .869 save percentage.
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While Jakub Dobes’ numbers aren’t exactly brilliant either ( 3.01 GAA and a .887 SV), the Czech netminder at least has a winning record, and it’s not even close. He’s 15-5-3 on the season. Whatever the reason is, the Habs seem to give Dobes more offensive support than Montembeault, and that plays into it as well.
When Kent Hughes met the media for his mid-season review, he said he didn’t like to put labels on people and that the goaltender playing the best would play the most, but that’s not what’s happening right now. Dobes has a 5-0-1 record in his last six games, while Montembeault is now 1-2-1 in his previous four starts.
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The Canadiens have three games this week, they’ll take on the Vegas Golden Knights, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Buffalo Sabres. To win, they will need someone to stand up and make the saves, and right now, it doesn’t look like that someone can be Montembeault.
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