Canadiens Preview and Lines: Dobes NHL Debut, Laine Status

After a short break for the holidays, the Montreal Canadiens (14-17-3) are back in action, facing the Florida Panthers (22-12-2), with the puck drop scheduled for 1 pm ET.

The Habs will have a new face in the lineup, as goaltender Jakub Dobes was recalled from the Laval Rocket on Friday afternoon and will make his NHL debut against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Dobes is a fierce competitor who played the bulk of the games for Ohio State during his two-year NCAA career. The Buckeyes relied on Dobes to a ridiculous degree, giving him 2361 minutes of ice time in 2022-23, while turning to the backup options for a grand total of 37 minutes.

The 6’05” netminder has the ideal wingspan, and was showing clear signs of improvement in his second season with the Rocket. Consider this an early audition for Dobes that will allow the Habs to gauge how far off he is from being able to serve as a backup goaltender to Samuel Montembeault, who desperately needs a lighter workload.

Cayden Primeau only had one start in December, connoting the lack of trust from the organization. It led to a very busy schedule for Montembeault, who is also set to represent Canada at the 4 Nations Faceoff in February.

Jakub Dobes on getting his first career NHL start tomorrow vs the Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers:

“It’s exciting. I want to play in this league, everyone wants to play in this league. So you compete against the best. You cannot hide as a goalie.…I’m really excited to… pic.twitter.com/pCYXpfgeOK

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 28, 2024

As for Patrik Laine, who was reportedly targeted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in his return to Ohio, there was some good news at practice. Laine was on the ice, taking line rushes alongside Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook. The 26-year-old forward left the game on Monday after absorbing a few hits in the first period.

Tiens tiens, Patrik Laine est présent à l’entraînement complet du CH, lui qui n’avait pas terminé le match contre les Blue Jackets! pic.twitter.com/MmMqECWiYd

— RDS (@RDSca) December 27, 2024

ON TOPIC: Patrik Laine Drama – Blue Jackets Reportedly Targeted Shoulder

For the view from the other side of the rink, make sure to visit our sister site, Florida Hockey Now.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Florida Panthers Projected Lineup

Rodrigues – Barkov – Reinhart

Verhaeghe – Bennett – Tkachuk

Luostarinen – Lundell – Boqvist

Greer – Nosek – Samoskevich

Forsling – Ekblad

Schmidt – Kulikov

Balinskis – Boqvist

Knight

How to Watch The Montreal Canadiens vs. The Florida Panthers, Saturday, December 28, 2024.

Game 35 of the regular season will be aired on RDS and TSN2. Once the game is over, an instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Montreal Hockey Now.