Apr 25, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault (35) makes a pad save against the Washington Capitals during the first period in game three of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/e527d4c7-9649-4f7f-ba31-2828fe0575d4.jpeg] Apr 25, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault (35) makes a pad save against the Washington Capitals during the first period in game three of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images It’s dressing room clear-out day for the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] today, and as usual, we are finding out plenty of information about what happened in both the regular season and the playoffs. Canadiens: The End For Patrik Laine? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-the-end-for-patrik-laine] Former Canadiens Captain Comes to The Maple Leafs’ Rescue [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/former-canadiens-captain-comes-to-the-maple-leafs-rescue] Canadiens: Curtain Call For Savard [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-curtain-call-for-savard] Unsurprisingly, one of the first questions asked of Samuel Montembeault was about the injury he sustained in the first-round series against the Washington Capitals. The netminder explained that he had torn two of the three muscles in his groin and that while he would have liked to continue, he just couldn’t. The injury would have ruled him out for two weeks, meaning that he could have returned in the second round had the Canadiens made it, but it wasn’t to be. He will not need surgery to repair the damage, but it will prevent him from attending the World Championships. The Becancour native never had such a busy season as he had this year. The masked man played in 62 games, which is almost twice his usual workload, and he can be proud of his accomplishments. He won 30 games for the first time in his career, with a 31-24-7 record, a 2.80 goals-against average, and a .902 save percentage. Before this season, he had only recorded a single shutout in the NHL, but he got four more this year. While he conceded that he lacked consistency at one point, he made the required adjustments and was an integral part of the Canadiens’ push for the playoffs. In an ideal world, Montembeault wouldn’t have been as busy, but Cayden Primeau’s struggles in the NHL left the organization with very few options. Jakub Dobes’ arrival did help, but next season, if he is once again Montembeault’s backup, he will need to see more action to ensure that the number one isn’t overworked. We’ll never know, but perhaps if he didn’t have that big of a workload, he wouldn’t have sustained an injury in game three. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwo-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen], never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
