MONTREAL — A sequence of saves from Jakub Dobes, when his Montreal Canadiens needed it most, as they were killing a penalty after losing all the momentum theyâ€d built up through the first 25 minutes of play against the Buffalo Sabres: first on a Tage Thompson breakaway, then on a sharp-angle shot from Rasmus Dahlin, then with his paddle down to break up a two-on-one, and finally with his skate to stifle a jam play from Peyton Krebs.
The 24-year-old made 30 stops on Monday, but those four were most timely.
Without them, the Canadiens wouldnâ€t have beaten the Sabres 4-2 to complete a 3-1-0 Bell-Centre stand that improved their record to 5-2-0 on the season.
They stacked up a bunch of small plays that proved big in the end. There was Alex Carrierâ€s first-period stand at the offensive blue line, where he took a hit, held his position, stepped on the puck to freeze it — as three Sabres attacked him — before kicking it over to Alex Newhook, who sprung Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen on the break that led to Montrealâ€s first goal. And there were all the ones Jake Evans, Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher made to get the Canadiens back to their game before Evans scored an empty-net goal captain Nick Suzukiâ€s desperate shot block created.
Lane Hutson, who scored what proved to be the winning goal earlier praised Carrier for his intelligence on Kapanenâ€s goal.
And then Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said this about Evans, Anderson and Gallagher: “Jakeyâ€s line, to me, is a momentum line. I thought they spent a lot of time in the offensive zone. It didnâ€t start from pretty plays through the neutral zone, and we need that. Especially at home, when you have matchups, and you can have a line that can play against other guys†top line and also bring momentum… I feel like their simplicity helps my matchup.â€
St. Louis wasnâ€t asked about Dobes, but heâ€d have acknowledged the goaltenderâ€s simple efficiency as a major factor in this win.
Dobes wasnâ€t exactly the same Dobes we saw shoot out to a 5-0-0 start to his NHL career last season. That guy was electric, he was all over his crease, he was scrambling to make both the easy and hard saves look hard and demonstrating a level of desperation that quickly endeared him to his teammates.
The guy we saw on Monday was better. And he coupled his built-in combativeness with some technical proficiency to steady the Canadiens right as they were losing the plot.
“I feel like I like a lot of things that weâ€ve worked on,†Dobes said. “I feel like Iâ€m really compact this season, and I donâ€t open up as much as I used to in the past. I feel like the technical thing, maybe you guys donâ€t see it, but I feel like Iâ€m way better than last year. Last year, I felt like I was a little bit scrambly, but this year I feel like Iâ€m more compact and subtle and just feel a little bit better than last year for sure.â€
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His confidence is swelling at the right time, and itâ€s keeping the Canadiens rolling and offering starter Samuel Montembeault time to redeem some of his own confidence.
Itâ€s been rocked a bit by a slow start to the season, with Montembeault allowing 13 goals through four starts and failing to make the timely saves the Canadiens have needed in their only two losses.
Prior to Mondayâ€s game, St. Louis said Dobes deserved to start.
Following Mondayâ€s game, itâ€s easy to conclude Dobes deserves to start more. Heâ€s 3-0-0 and sporting a .939 save percentage after allowing only five goals on 82 shots, and that was after he didnâ€t allow a single goal in the pre-season. Riding the hot hand while allowing Montembeaultâ€s to warm back up seems logical.
Stimulating competition between both goaltenders does, too, and St. Louis said earlier in the day he was for it.
“I think itâ€s a competitive league,†the coach said. “Youâ€re always going to have internal competition… We feel comfortable with both goalies, but youâ€re always going to have that internal competition, no matter what position you play. Players want more.â€
And St. Louis needs his players pushing for more.
Dobes did it from post-to-post on Monday, and heâ€ll need to keep that up. Especially with a compressed schedule that wouldâ€ve already forced the Canadiens to rely on him more than they did last season.
Down the stretch, they relied almost exclusively on Montembeault.
The Becancour, Que., native ended up appearing in 62 regular-season games before tearing his groin in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Thereâ€s a need to manage Montembeaultâ€s minutes more this season, and Dobes is enabling them to do it.
“We have 82 games, we have two good goalies,†said St. Louis. “Will both be on top of their game all year? No, so you manage it. You manage their workloads and their performance.
“Thatâ€s what weâ€re doing.â€
It would be a lot harder right now if Dobes wasnâ€t stepping up to the task.
But the Ostrava, Cze., native did that on Monday, and heâ€s earning trust he can be used more regularly.
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