The Montreal Canadiens may not have won in Minnesota, but that doesn't mean they should revert to Samuel Montembeault, far from it.
Even though the Montreal Canadiens lost Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Wild, Martin St-Louis’ men still managed to leave the state of hockey with one more point in the standings, which means that Jakub Dobes has not lost in regulation in his last 10 games.
Granted, the 24-year-old netminder didn’t shine as much as he had in the previous three games; after all, he finished the game with 20 saves on 24 shots, which works out to a .833 save percentage, but he did make some big saves when the Canadiens needed them the most. Furthermore, the Tricolore didn’t exactly play a great game in Minnesota, taking just 20 shots on goal, failing even to generate a shot on their only power play, and committing 12 giveaways. Despite all that, they went away with a precious point in the standings thanks to Dobes.
The Habs have just one game left before the Olympics break, on Wednesday night against the Winnipeg Jets, and they need those two points to go out on a high note. According to Moneypuck.com, the Habs now have a 77.2% chance of making the playoffs, but a win in Winnipeg would move those odds to 82%. Currently, the goaltender who gives St-Louis and his men the best chance of winning is Dobes.
Things may be bleak in Winnipeg, as the Jets currently have 52 points and are nine points out of a playoff spot, but they cannot be taken lightly. Samuel Montembeault has a 1-4-1 record against the Manitoba outfit with a 3.47 goals-against average and a .881 save percentage. Meanwhile, Dobes has won his only game against Winnipeg, a 3-2 win in which he made 29 saves on 31 shots last December and was named the third star.
St-Louis often says that events can lead a team to follow a particular path, and events are clearly leading him towards Dobes, the goaltender who finds a way to get points.
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