Jakub Dobes is the reason the Montreal Canadiens won Game 7 – and arguably the series – against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It was after the buzzer mercifully sounded to end a 20-minute second period, where the Montreal Canadiens failed to get even a single shot on net, when goalie Jakub Dobes skated past Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov on the way to the dressing room and delivered a Stanley Cup-level chirp.
"I know you guys are nervous," Dobes told the NHL on TNT of his brief conversation with Kucherov.
It was a heck of a thing to say.
Not only because the Habs had been severely outplayed in a winner-goes-on Game 7 against the Lightning, but also because of who was trash-talking to whom.
Dobes is a 24-year-old rookie with fewer than 100 games of experience. Kucherov, meanwhile, is a two-time Stanley Cup winner, three-time scoring champion and league MVP.
And yet, in a 2-1 win in Game 7, it was Dobes who ultimately got under the skin of Kucherov.
"I just wanted to show him that I'm confident, too," Dobes told the NHL on TNT. "He's an elite player, but we have really good players, too, and we don't lack confidence in our locker room. This kind of stuff is only going to make us better. That's what happened. Nothing too crazy, just a little exchange."
If anything, Dobes' confidence probably grew following the Sunday's series finale, where the young goalie stood on his head and stopped 28 of 29 shots.
This was his coming-out party. It was his time to shine. Like Carey Price, Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden, it was a young goalie proving to Habs fans that he could handle the pressure that comes with wearing the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge and rise to the occasion.
"Dobes kind of stole the game," Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis told reporters after the game.
Correction: Dobes, who had a 2.03 GAA, stole the series.
In seven games, Dobes put on a clinic. He outplayed Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had a 2.18 GAA. He got into the heads of Kucherov (one goal), Brayden Point (one goal), Anthony Cirelli (no goals) and so many other Tampa Bay stars. And in a goaltending performance that will go down in history, he delivered in a Game 7 that Montreal had no business of winning.
"He's a gamer; he's been doing that since he got to our team," said Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki. "We're going to need him to continue playing well as we go on here."
The Canadiens will now play the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, where Dobes will try and continue to carry the load. It's something that he's been doing for the past four months.
At one point, Montreal's net was up for grabs. But while the Candiens have at times relied on Samuel Montembeault and Jacob Fowler, it was Dobes who took the job and ran with it once the calendar turned to 2026.
Since Jan. 1, Dobes went 17-5-1. During that span, he lost consecutive games only once.
"He gives us a chance every game," St-Louis said earlier in the series. "I feel like he's done that all the way for most of this season, especially the second half. I see a very confident young man. He's competing… I feel like that was why he was good down the stretch. He's not going to be perfect, but he's able to move on and compete on the next thing, move onto the next thing. That's a big reason why he's giving us a chance every game, I feel, because he's just moving on."
Moving on, the Canadiens will need more of Dobes if they hope to extend their playoff run.
At the same time, they will also need more out of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Ivan Demidov, who combined for only two goals in seven games against the Lightning. Who knows, maybe they'll eventually get both at the same time.
"Many times in the season, the guys bail me out, and I tried to do the same and vice versa," said Dobes. "Sometimes, they don't play good, and sometimes I don't play good. They always got my back, and I always got theirs. That's our mentality.
"We have a really good group, good leaders, so just a really good locker room. I would do anything. This wasn't anything special. Just trying to keep the guys in it, and I was just waiting for them to get going. That's exactly what happened. I feel like we've been through this a lot."
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