The Montreal Canadiens’ goaltending picture has taken another interesting turn this week, and it has set up what should be a really telling back-to-back at the Bell Centre.
Jakub Dobes, who’s coming off a brilliant stretch of play, was tapped for the start Saturday night against the San Jose Sharks. Then on Sunday, all signs point to Jacob Fowler getting the crease against the Anaheim Ducks.
Fowler’s presence here isn’t happening by accident. This is his second recall of the season from the Laval Rocket after a remarkable run in the American Hockey League where he won ten of his last eleven starts. Then he arrives in Montreal and immediately makes an impression. Fowler was named first star on Wednesday night in Ottawa after a performance that had people across the city talking.
So suddenly the Canadiens find themselves in a very different place in goal than they were even a few months ago.
New Reality in Goal
You have Dobes playing with confidence, looking calm and composed in big moments. You’ve got Fowler arriving with momentum and showing the kind of poise that suggests he belongs at this level. And when you look at the way both of these young goaltenders are trending, it’s becoming easier to imagine this being the tandem that gives Montreal its best chance to win. And it’s not just for the rest of this regular season, but potentially into the playoffs and even looking ahead to next year.
Which naturally brings us to the other side of the conversation.
If Dobes and Fowler are the direction this team is moving in, that leaves a very big question mark surrounding Sam Montembeault and where he fits into the picture — if he fits at all. At this point, it’s not unreasonable to wonder whether Montembeault may have already played his last game as a Montreal Canadien.
This Week’s Show
So the real question is: how did the Canadiens get here?
How did the goaltending hierarchy shift this dramatically, and what does it tell us about the way this organization is thinking about the position going forward?
These questions form the basis of our discussion in this week’s episode of the Canadiens Connection podcast.
We also discussed these important topics on this week’s episode of the podcast:
- Jacob Fowler’s second recall helps to stabilize Habs’ goaltending.
- GM Kent Hughes makes a trade to help Laval ahead of the AHL trade deadline.
- Canadiens’ goaltending prospect wins Ken Dryden award.
CC Question of the Week: Are you confident in a Dobes–Fowler goaltending tandem for the rest of the season for the Montreal Canadiens?
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Canadiens Connection Podcast: A New Era for Canadiens Goaltending
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