Hidden Game: Jakub Dobes is the hero again vs. Canes as Canadiens win fifth straight game
In a season of greatness, one in which the latest unbelievable performance seemingly trumps the last incredible effort, what more can be said about Jakub Dobes?
There are no more words, adjectives, accolades or superlatives.
The Canadiens on Sunday won a game they had no business winning — 3-1 over the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center. And Montreal triumphed largely based on the .
Dobes wasn’t alone; no player ever is. But after he allowed the opening goal 8 1/2 minutes into the game on the eighth shot he faced, he stopped the next 27. His save percentage was .971 and he improved his record to 25-8-4. No rookie NHL netminder has won more games this season. Perhaps it’s time to consider Dobes for the Calder Trophy? Why not?
In case you were wondering: Dobes wasn’t made available to the media post-game. This is a hill we’re prepared to die on — and we’ll continue providing updates following games in which he has played.
Oh captain, my captain: Honourable mention must go to Nick Suzuki, who paced the Canadiens with two goals and an assist. Suzuki now has 26 goals and a career-high 91 points.
Strange, but true (Part I): One season after the Canadiens defeated Florida — the eventual Stanley Cup champions — four times, they swept the three-game season series against Carolina. The Hurricanes are merely first in the Metropolitan Division and are tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference with Tampa Bay and Buffalo.
Strange, but true (Part II): Suzuki remains in search of his first career hat trick.
News you need (Part I): Suzuki becomes the first Canadiens player with 90 points in a season since Pierre Turgeon (96) and Vincent Damphousse (94), both in the 1995-96 season.
News you need (Part II): With two assists against Carolina, Lane Hutson became the fastest defenceman in NHL history to record 30 multi-assist games, requiring 157 contests.
News you need (Part III): The Canadiens now have 42 wins with nine regular-season games remaining. That’s the most wins they’ve had since 2018-19, when they had 44.
News you need (Part IV): The Canadiens became the first team to defeat Carolina three times this season. Only four other teams have defeated the Hurricanes twice.
News you need (Part V): The Canadiens are on a season-high five-game winning streak.
News you need (Part VI): Andrei Svechnikov scored Carolina’s only goal, on the power play. It marked the sixth consecutive game in which the team has scored with the man advantage.
We’ve seen this movie before: Last Tuesday, Dobes stopped 41 Carolina shots in a 5-2 victory at the Bell Centre. The visitors had a 10-1 shots advantage with 12:18 remaining in the first period. On Sunday, the Hurricanes again registered the first 10 shots before Zachary Bolduc tested Frederik Andersen at 11:48.
You asked for it, you got it: With Josh Anderson remaining ill, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis elected to dress defenceman Arber Xhekaj — as a left winger on the fourth line. Xhekaj, a healthy scratch the last six games, is a talented enough skater to play forward, although not the smoothest stick-handler we’ve seen. At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, he provides a physical presence up front. Despite playing only 5:11 against Carolina, he had five hits.
And where does this leave Patrik Laine?: Undoubtedly searching for a new address next season.
Hits of the night: Taylor Hall on Kaiden Guhle in the first period. In the third period, William Carrier ran over the Canadiens defenceman.
News you need (Part VII): Of the Canadiens’ six first-period shots, defenceman Noah Dobson had four.
Pass of the night (Part I): Cole Caufield to Suzuki on the Canadiens’ opening goal.
Pass of the night (Part II): Juraj Slafkovsky, cross-ice, to Suzuki on Montreal’s third goal, late in the second period.
Sieve of the night: Andersen, who faced only 18 shots, was beaten on the eighth, 11th and 14th directed his way. His save percentage was .833.
News you need (Part VIII): With three second-period goals, the Canadiens finally erased a blemish that had dogged them throughout the season. Montreal has now scored 86 second-period goals while allowing 84.
Game of inches: In the fifth minute of the third period, when Carolina badly required a goal, Sebastian Aho hit the post.
This is why teams win: The Hurricanes had one last power-play opportunity in the third period, but failed to generate a shot on Dobes — thanks in part to blocked shots from Dobson and Phillip Danault.
Defence wins championships: In their last seven games, the Canadiens have allowed only 13 goals. During their five-game winning streak, only eight goals have been allowed.
Quick stats: Suzuki had five shots. Dobson had four while Caufield, who scored his 46th goal this season, had three. Jake Evans had five hits. Of the 32 blocked shots by the Canadiens, Hutson and Alexandre Carrier each had four. Danault, Dobson and Joe Veleno each had three. Mike Matheson played 23:23. The Canadiens won 45.8 per cent of their faceoffs and were outhit 29-21.
They said it: “I think we’ve shown down the stretch here that we’ve been playing playoff hockey,” Dobson said in Raleigh, N.C. “You have to weather the storm, especially on the road, and find a way. We’re learning here how to do that on the fly.
“(Dobes) is playing super confident,” Dobson added. “He’s got a lot of poise. He’s competing on every puck. Some big performances.”
“(Dobes) is really finding himself as a goalie in this league,” Suzuki said. “He has been there for us every single time. He made some unbelievable saves again tonight, when we didn’t have our best game. We knew we had to play a lot better after the first period to help him out.”
“My first year of junior, I played 20 or 30 games at forward,” Xhekaj told the media. “I haven’t played forward in a while. I was just excited to get back, playing with the guys. I sit upstairs, watch the guys go to war every night. I just want to be out there. I had a lot of energy. I just thought I’d play simple out there … be physical and get in front of the net when I could. This is a tough rink to play in, and they were flying in the first period.”
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