After a chaotic start nearly forced him to the bench, rookie Jakub Dobes silenced the Sabres with 32 consecutive saves to put Montreal on the brink of the Eastern Conference final.
BUFFALO — The Montreal Canadiens opened with significant firepower in the early stages of their Game 5 matchup against the Buffalo Sabres.
However, on their own end of the ice, starting goaltender Jakub Dobes struggled to find his rhythm.
Both teams exchanged goals twice in the first 7:54 of play before the Canadiens' Dobes surrendered a soft wrist shot to Sabres forward Konsta Helenius, putting Buffalo ahead 3-2.
It was perhaps the weakest goal Dobes has allowed throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs — his third goal conceded on just four shots.
Coach Martin St-Louis could not have been blamed had he decided to pull his goaltender, sensing it simply wasn't his night. Instead, St-Louis stuck with the rookie, a move that paid off in Montreal's 6-3 victory. The win gives the Canadiens a 3-2 lead in the second-round series and a chance to close it out Saturday night in Montreal.
The decision was far from easy. Following Buffalo's third goal, St-Louis consulted with interim goaltending coach Marco Marciano to determine whether to keep Dobes in the game.
"The first period was very chaotic; he made the call to leave him in," St-Louis said. "Ultimately, it's my final decision, but I didn't play the position and went with his opinion."
That opinion proved correct.
Dobes settled in to make 32 consecutive saves, including a pivotal breakaway stop on Sabres star Tage Thompson.
By the end of the night, it was Buffalo facing a goaltending crisis. After the Canadiens outscored the Sabres 3-0 in the second period, Buffalo replaced starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with Alex Lyon to begin the third.
The 24-year-old Dobes, who finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting this season, is still honing his craft in the NHL. Despite his status as the starter, he treated Game 5 as a vital learning experience.
"I just feel like the one lesson I learned from today is I've got to have better body language for the boys," he said. "Don't let them know that maybe I'm not feeling at my best. I feel like we talked a little bit during the intermission. We met up in the locker room and reset it."
Dobes finished the contest with 33 saves on 36 shots, leaving the Sabres looking listless while his teammates never wavered in their attack on the Buffalo net.
"I just think he's super confident in himself," Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. "He puts in the work off the ice to have his mental training where it needs to be. He wants to be in the fight with the guys. He's got the perfect attitude for a goalie, for sure."
While goaltending was a lingering question mark for this talented Canadiens roster entering the season, Dobes has provided the backbone Montreal needs. They are now just one win away from an Eastern Conference final matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.