Habs Daily: Fans Split On Dobes Vs Montembeault, Scoring Trends

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Monday.

Montreal Canadiens News

Seeing as goaltender Jakub Dobes is yet to lose through five career starts, Habs fans are split whether the rookie should be given the start on Tuesday versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. At the time of scheduling this article, 49 percent of fans want to see Dobes start, whereas 40 percent still consider Montembeault the go-to goaltender.

If I had to guess, I’d suggest Martin St-Louis won’t undercut his starter, which is still Samuel Montembeault, but there is a conversation to be had if Dobes keeps trending upwards.

The prevailing thoughts on both sides of the coin are clear. Montembeault deserves a longer runway, even if he’s not playing up to his potential at the moment, and Dobes deserves the starts because the Habs are in a playoff hunt and there’s no room for error.

While we can frame this as a controversy, but in reality it’s much closer to a (very) good problem. Having two capable goaltenders is a boon, not a curse. If Montembeault falters further, Dobes is there to pick up the slack, and the same would be true if the roles were reversed.

If you were Martin St-Louis, who do you start for the #GoHabsGo versus the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday?

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 20, 2025

Speaking of Dobes, his father is in town, allowing him to reconnect, not to mention discuss his perfect 5-0 record in the NHL.

“My dad is here. I haven’t seen my dad in a year & a half almost. He’s had a big impact on my hockey career so I wanted to do good…I’m going to celebrate with (him). I’m just happy to pick up the win.”

– Jakub Dobes yesterday pic.twitter.com/sVWvdErWD4

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) January 20, 2025

The Habs are scoring more often, but not every player has improved his scoring pace this season. The first line has certainly done its part, with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki leading the charge among forwards. [Canadiens Trends: Which Forwards Are Scoring More Or Less Often]

There was some bad news on the farm. Joshua Roy, the Laval Rocket’s leading scorer, will miss four to six weeks with an upper-body injury. Defenceman William Trudeau will also a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury.

Roy was set to represent the Rocket at the All-Star Game, and it remains to be seen if another member of the organization will join Logan Mailloux for the All-Star Weekend. Owen Beck is currently with the Habs, but there’s a chance he’ll be back in the AHL by the time the festivities kick off in early February. If Beck is not named as a replacement, both Adam Engstrom and Jared Davidson become logical choices.

L’attaquant Joshua Roy (haut du corps) sera tenu à l’écart du jeu pour quatre à six semaines.
Le défenseur William Trudeau (bas du corps) sera tenu à l’écart du jeu pour une à deux semaines.

Forward Joshua Roy (upper-body) will be out for four to six weeks.
Defenseman William… pic.twitter.com/c24H8K6myE

— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) January 20, 2025

National Hockey Now Network

The Pittsburgh Penguins players and coaches honoured the LA firefighters Monday. The coaches donned the hats on the ice while the players wore the LAFD hats in the locker room Monday after the team’s morning skate. [Pittsburgh Penguins]

Things are getting stale in Newark. The New Jersey Devils have now dropped four games in a row and five of their last six contests. Although they’ve done a decent job of collecting loser points along the way, they need a change to get back to where they were before Christmas, and it’s time coach Sheldon Keefe pulled the trigger. [New Jersey Devils]

Brad Marchand is one of, if not the most clutch players in Boston Bruins history, as the franchise’s all-time leader in overtime goals, but he was benched in a recent loss as teams headed to extra time. [Florida Panthers]