Canadiens’ St-Louis: It Wasn’t A Long Conversation

Martin St-Louis spoke to the media Tuesday morning after the Montreal Canadiens' practice at the Bell Centre and revealed a couple of changes to his lineup: David Reinbacher will make way for Adam Engstrom, while Jakub Dobes will take over for Jacob Fowler in net.

The coach said removing Reinbacher from the lineup had nothing to do with performance; it’s about making the most of the opportunity to get these young players playing in the NHL right now. With the Jayden Struble trade and the Mike Matheson injury, there is a spot on the blueline, and the organization is clearly keen to take stock of what it has in its hands with both Reinbacher and Engstrom.

As to the fact that Dobes gets the net, the coach didn’t have much to say:

I don’t think it was a long conversation, you know. I trust Marco [Marciano].

Canadiens' Danault’s Words Of Wisdom
Game 9 – Canadiens vs. Sharks: Swimming With The Young Sharks
Canadiens Prospect Reaches NCAA Milestone

While Fowler won his last game, a more active stick on a couple of goals might have kept the Buffalo Sabres from scoring, so it’s not entirely surprising the coaching staff decided to give Dobes the net. The same way St-Louis doesn’t want his players to give the referees an opportunity to call a penalty, it seems his goaltenders shouldn’t give him an opportunity to go with the other option. Has to be said, however, that he wants them both to have some rhythm:

Of course it’s important to keep them active. We’re very confident with our goaltenders. You must ensure that you keep them active, and we’ve got a bit of a rhythm for them

It will be interesting to see how Dobes does; historically, he hasn’t had much success against Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks. The Czech netminder was in net for both duels last season and lost both times. In his last outing, he surrendered five goals on just 23 shots against the Washington Capitals, posting a .792 save percentage. Dobes is now 1-2-1 this season, with a 4.63 goals-against average and an .842 SV. With Samuel Montembeault out of action, the situation hasn’t been dire for Dobes, but should he not find his form before the Becancour native returns, the crease could get very crowded.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.