Jakub Dobes Named NHL’s First Star Of The Week

If it hadn’t been for Dobes, there is a good chance that the Habs wouldn’t have won any of those three games he played, as the only night that the team outshot their opponents during their heavy 4 games in 6 days schedule was when Jacob Fowler got the start on Saturday. Not to mention the first 10 minutes of each of Dobes’ games saw the Canadiens get badly outplayed to the point where they could have gone down 3-0 in each of those games, but the Habs netminder was there to prevent the games from getting out of reach. With that being said, Dobes getting the honour of First Star of the Week makes a lot of sense, considering just how clutch he became when the games mattered most.

His amazing play goes beyond just the past week, as since the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6th, Dobes has a 6-2-0 record with a .937 save percentage and 1.88 GAA. Among goaltenders who have started a minimum of 5 games, he tied for 2nd in save percentage with Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Simon Ersson, behind only Joel Hofer, who has a .954 save percentage in that time. However, one thing separating Dobes from those two goaltenders is that he has played with the pressure of playing in must-win games to get closer to securing a playoff spot.Although both Ersson and Hofer have managed to help their teams get back into the hunt for a playoff spot, it is still unlikely either will make it.

The pressure for Dobes has been much higher than for either of those two goaltenders, especially Hofer, who seems to be the only reason that the Blues are no longer in the bottom 5 of the NHL. There is absolutely no pressure for Hofer, while Dobes is now asked to be the main guy in the hockey mecca and continuously gets the Habs victories.

Dobes is also 3rd behind Hofer and Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins in Goals Saved Above Expected in their respective last 10 games. The truth is the Habs are finally getting the goaltending they need to be successful come playoff time at the perfect time. It is just a matter of whether Dobes can continue to be this good when it comes time for the playoffs in about 2.5 weeks.

With that being said, Dobes’ honour of First Star in the entire NHL last week is well deserved, as he led his team to three very important high-pressure wins against teams they are battling with in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Thanks to Dobes’ play last week, Money Puck now has the Canadiens at 98.9% to make the 2026 NHL playoffs.