With Fowler, the CH dominates. With Dobes, they struggle.

And those stats don't even take into account his prowess in shootouts!

From what I've been hearing for several weeks now, Jakub Dobes took it easy this summer, much like Samuel Montembeault did last year. You think you've made it, you take it a bit easier, you're less hungry… and you show up to camp a little late. Some manage to make up that lost ground, while others don't. See: Montembeault last year…

From what I'm hearing, the decision to give Fowler three straight starts has to do with Fowler's play, but also with Dobes's form—both physical and mental.

We'll see how Dobes bounces back tonight. He hasn't played in over a week; how will he react?

He's a true competitor, and I'm hopeful he'll have a big game. But if he falters again, the spotlight will turn to Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes.

Dobes is still playing under last year's contract. There was no rush this summer regarding his contractual future. By rushing things, Hughes and Gorton clearly paid more ($5.36 million per season) than they would have if they'd waited and Dobes had had a bad season. By consistently taking a long-term approach—signing the organization's young players before their contracts expire—Gorton and Hughes are always taking a risk. #Hutson #Demidov #Slafkovsky

In this case, they took a gamble that Dobes would continue to improve. They expect him to keep developing.

Seeing him struggle so much to start the season is giving the Montreal front office a headache. Especially Jeff Gorton, I'm told.

As someone extremely credible told me yesterday:

“He's playing terribly right now. He needs to get back on track quickly because the team has two other goalies who are very mentally focused.”

Let's not forget: Samuel Montembeault could return to action next week. Demoting Fowler would make no sense, and continuing this three-way rotation would put Dobes, Gorton, and Hughes on the spot.

What will happen? We'll see.

Overtime

– I have to admit: I'm far from convinced by Adam Engstrom's play. He's often lackluster, he isn't physical, and he doesn't seem to have what it takes to become an offensive defenseman in the best league in the world. Let's just say that David Reinbacher and Luke Mittelstadt inspire me more, for now.

Let's just say that Reinbacher's recall—possibly to replace Engstrom in tonight's lineup—has me excited.

– Would we have traded Jayden Struble if Mike Matheson had gotten injured two or three days earlier? Most likely not, I'm told.

– Kaiden Guhle has been extremely solid since returning to action. Let's hope he stays healthy, because he brings a lot to the team. The Habs are 2-0-0 since Guhle's return.

– Sending Texier and Bolduc instead of Suzuki in the shootout paid off! Martin St-Louis is now coaching to win (and I like that).

– Kirby Dach had another tough game. It makes no sense to play the way he does (and to dare to get all “power of friendship” after wins).

– Man, I love Josh Anderson.

– Owen Beck doesn't seem ready for the NHL to me, a bit like Florian Xhekaj did when he first started out. When you put Beck (1 assist) ahead of Sasha Pastujov, Brett Berard, Alex Belzile, or even Laurent Dauphin (who might be getting a new NHL contract), you're taking a risk in terms of organizational culture. Beck's play last night proves one thing: if Beck hadn't been a second-round pick by the new front office, he wouldn't be in Montreal right now.

– Looking at the schedule, I saw that we're hosting the Sabres again at the Bell Centre on Saturday. What a sh*tty schedule…