New Canadiens Connection: Goaltender Reset

Montreal captain Nick Suzuki called it the biggest game of the year. Two third period goals from Cole Caufield helped the Canadiens defeat the Sabres 4-2 in Buffalo on Saturday night. Caufield, named the first star of the night, has 11 goals in his last eight games.

Habs goaltender Jakub Dobes earned the game’s second star making 36 saves for his 18th win of the season. It was the third straight win for Dobes this week who has a record of 8-0-1 in his last nine games. The 24-year-old goaltender recorded a .947 save percentage and 3.57 goals saved above expected.

Dobes has clearly taken over the mantle of the Canadiens number one goaltender. This week he was reunited with his mentor as Marco Marciano was named the Canadiens interim goalie coach for the rest of the season. On Wednesday, Canadiens President, Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton announced that goalie coach Eric Raymond had been relieved of his duties. It was a significant, and very telling decision.

This Week’s Show

While the results in net this season made it feel like something was coming, the timing and the language used by management raised some important questions.

Gorton talked about the need for a ‘new voice,’ and that phrase can mean a lot of things — accountability, clarity, or even a shift in philosophy. So on this week’s episode of the Canadiens Connection podcast, we’re going to dig into what’s actually gone wrong with Habs goaltending, how much blame belongs where, and whether this move is about fixing the present, protecting the future, or both.

NEW PODCAST | ‘A New Voice’ in the Canadiens Crease: What Went Wrong, What Comes Next? | Canadiens Connection ep 385

We also discussed these important topics on this week’s episode of the podcast:

Canadiens roster is getting healthy. What happens to the lineup?
Habs management makes a significant change to the coaching staff.
Montreal’s successes from rink to rebuild. We’re checking the rankings.

CC Question of the Week: Who are you most comfortable with as the Canadiens goaltending tandem for the rest of the season?
Jakub Dobes, Sam Montembeault, Jacob Fowler, Kaapo Kahkonen (pick 2)
Who should get the most starts?

It is our eighth season, with a new episode of the podcast dropping every Saturday afternoon. Be sure to subscribe using your favorite podcast app! Or watch our episodes on YouTube!