Is It Time To Start Panicking About The Goaltenders?

The truth is, with Dobes, he was never expected to have the pressure he has had to perform this season as a backup, but with Montembeault’s struggles, he has been given a lot more responsibility than expected, and it’s now taking a toll on his game ever since he started playing more games.

I think it’s time to face the facts that Dobes could be a good backup that can play 25-30 games in relief of a quality starter, but coming in with a lot of pressure to perform after his incredible streak has ended may just be too much for him at the end of the day. In fact, Dobes could maybe become one of the best backups in the NHL, similar to someone like Jake Allen, who has thrived much more as a backup than he did as a starter throughout his career. 

Once Dobes can get back to playing 1 out of every 3 games, he should be just fine. That loss against the New Jersey Devils makes more sense of why it affected him so much and it’s likely that deep down he knew the hot streak had come to an end once again. If you look back at last season, he came in scorching hot after the Christmas break, winning his first 5 NHL games, but soon tailed off after his first loss of the season. This is exactly what happened again this season with Dobes; the only difference is that Samuel Montembeault feels almost unplayable right now.

Eventually, Dobes refound his game after a few tough starts following his hot start last year. It will probably end up being a pattern for the next few years with him, but if there is a solid starter ahead of him, the performances won’t be as bad for two reasons. The first being there will be less pressure on him to be a saviour, and the 2nd is he won’t have to play as much. 

Sadly, nobody expected what occurred with Montembeault after he had been an average NHL starter over the past two seasons. Yes, he had a few bad games here and there but he would typically bounce back after a really bad game. Unfortunately, this year, because of the way he looks in his net, it never seems like he’ll get out of his slump. 

Eventually, his slump started to affect the defence, and now they seem more nervous than ever in their own zone. On top of that, the offence was starting to come back to earth after being among the highest scoring teams throughout the first month of the season. 

The Habs have fallen to where they are expected to be this season in the standings, as a bubble playoff team again this year, but due to Montembeault’s struggles, they may end up falling even further if things don’t work out soon. One thing that could end up being a turning point for the Habs’ netminder is that head coach Martin St. Louis finally pulled Montembeault in a game for the first time this season, despite having other situations where he likely should have gotten pulled.

On the surface, it may not make much sense that a single time getting yanked may change things for Montembeault, but it could result in him finally taking time to analyze exactly what is going wrong with his game, now that the coach has doubts in him. Right now, St. Louis is doubting both goaltenders after Thursday’s game against the Capitals.

Hopefully, Montembeault can figure things out but it’s really not looking good right now.