After pulling off a win against the Vancouver Canucks despite playing their worst first period of the season, the Montreal Canadiens enjoyed a day off on Sunday. It’s understandable —they’ve got a long road trip and have to deal with the time difference as well.
When the Habs got back on the ice on Monday, ahead of their Tuesday night tilt with the Seattle Kraken, their second of the season, Martin St-Louis wouldn’t confirm who would be in net for his men on Tuesday night.
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That’s not surprising; he rarely reveals his hand, but what is surprising is seeing how people are making a big deal of this. A hockey team wants to win games; whoever is wearing the number one tag still needs to win to retain that tag, especially when you’re not talking about a guy who’s paid $10 M like Sergei Bobrovsky with the Florida Panthers, for instance.
Asked about Dobes’ progress this season, the bench boss says:
I think he’s constantly evolving. It’s a guy who plays with a lot of confidence. I think we’re doing a better job in front of our goaltenders more often. We went to get some stability there to limit the big scoring chances. There’s nothing bullet-proof; you’re going to give scoring chances, it’s just about finding a way, and that’s what we must do. – St-Louis on Dobes.
When asked if he expected his goaltenders to have played five games each, 10 games into the season, he said he didn’t have any expectations, but added that Dobes is on a good run, that Montembeault will have some as well, and that the Canadiens are well equipped in net.
Hockey is a results business, and you’re only as good as your last performance. Moving away from the strictly developmental stage of the rebuild, it’s normal for the coach to hold people accountable. Just like a defenseman who takes too many bad penalties might have to skip a turn, a goaltender who’s struggling may do the same thing; accountability has got to be all the way through up and down the lineup.
Of course, sometimes that’s harder. Last season, St-Louis couldn’t have held Montembeault accountable in the early part of the season because he didn’t have a viable second option. Cayden Primeau’s confidence was shattered to the point where it looked like the puck was a hot potato to him. This year, St-Louis has become more than just a viable option; he’s a red-hot option.
Jakub Dobes has five of the Canadiens’ seven wins with incredible stats, a 1.70 goals-against average, and a .940 save percentage. There shouldn’t even be a question about who’s starting on Tuesday night. The aim is to win and be as high as possible in the standings. Logically, you should play the guy who gives you the best odds of winning.
Granted, there may come a time when Samuel Montembeault needs to see action, but we’re not there yet. He can’t wait for the next back-to-back at the end of November, but there’s no rush right now. Let him work on his game with the goalie coach and build up confidence in practice. When he gets that and/or Dobes has an off night, he can come back in the net, end of story.
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