In an article published on Wednesday, NHL.com took a deeper look at the stats put together by Montreal Canadiens’ rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes, calling him a “dark horse Calder Trophy contender and adding that he’s emerging as the Habs' no. 1 goaltender.
There’s no denying that the youngster is having a fantastic start to the season. Still, it may be a tad early for anointing him the Canadiens’ no. 1. Samuel Montembeault had a great season last year and was a big part of the reason why the Tricolore made the playoffs. Montreal right now has two capable goaltenders with different starts to the season. It’s worth seeing if the trend continues before saying Dobes has become the top choice.
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Nonetheless, the stats from NHL.com are pretty interesting. Dobes leads the league in high-danger save percentage (.918 save percentage – with a minimum of four games started). He’s also second in five-on-five save percentage, with .959 behind the Washington Capitals’ Logan Thompson, who’s got a .960 SV in seven games. The article also points out that Montembeault has a .636 high-danger SV%, which is below the NHL average of .810 so far this season.
Furthermore, Dobes ranks fifth in the NHL when it comes to “Saves Above Projected” with plus-3.88, behind Chicago Blackhawks’ Spencer Knight (plus-9.06), Vancouver Canucks Thatcher Demko (plus-8.68), the above-mentioned Thompson (plus-8.55), and Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck (plus-7.32). It’s worth mentioning that the Canadiens have the second-lowest average in projected goal rates (4.59), meaning they are doing a good job of limiting high-quality chances in front of their goaltenders.
Last season, Dobes also had a red-hot start, even though it only came after Christmas once Cayden Primeau was waived and assigned to the Laval Rocket. The Czech goalie won his first five games against top-rated opposition, the Florida Panthers, the Colorado Avalanche, the Capitals, the Dallas Stars, and the New York Rangers. He then lost his sixth game in overtime against the New Jersey Devils and lost his next two games before being pulled from the third.
He wasn’t very consistent in the last seven games he was entrusted with. He had an SV that ranged from .800 to .973 over that span. Having a hot start is one thing, but maintaining the same kind of numbers long-term is quite another.
Dobes has been very confident in net so far, moving with ease, challenging shooters, coming out for pucks without hesitating, and generally inspiring trust from his teammates. When Montembeault gets back into the net, which could very well happen on Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators, it will be interesting to see if he’s managed to turn the corner and doesn’t look like he’s fighting the puck anymore. Hockey is a results-oriented business, but both goaltenders need to see some action. The days of Martin Brodeur playing 70 games a year are behind us, and perhaps, if Montembeault didn’t play in 62 games last season, he wouldn’t have suffered a torn groin muscle in the third game of the playoffs.
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