The Montreal Canadiens were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Washington Capitals. All in all, their season was a success. Few expected them to make the postseason. And they put in a good account of themselves against Washington. However, the team did lose goalie Sam Montembeault to injury in Game 3.
Montembeault left Game 3 in the second period. He did not return to the game or the series. Rookie goalie Jakub Dobes finished the contest, winning Game 3 before dropping Games 4 and 5. With the series over, Montembeault has opened up about the injury that sidelined him for the rest of the series against the Capitals.
“I got hurt early in the second, so the first TV timeout I went to the bench and told ‘Rammer’ [director of sports medicine and performance Jim Ramsay] and ‘Dobie’ that I hurt my leg and I told ‘Dobie’ to stay ready,” Montembeault said Friday, via NHL.com’s Sean Ferrell.
“I tried to go back, I could still play but I couldn’t move, I really had a tough time getting back up. So after that, I wanted to wait at least until the second TV timeout so Dobie doesn’t have to go right into the action, give him a little more time. But I really couldn’t move so I had to get out of the game.”
It was later confirmed that the Canadiens goalie suffered two torn muscles in his groin. He told reporters that he would not need surgery to address this issue. How much time Montembeault would have missed had the Habs moved on is unknown.
The Canadiens head into an intriguing offseason. Montreal will certainly look to build upon this performance in 2025-26. They need to add some pieces to the roster, though. Especially if they want to advance past the first round in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
More must-reads: