Canadiens rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes well prepared for playoff pressure
No moment, it seems, ever has been too big for Canadiens rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes.
Article content
Article content
The 23-year-old Czech native made his NHL debut Dec. 28 at Florida and shut out the defending Stanley Cup champions before winning his next four starts, quickly becoming a fan favourite.
Article content
And when Dobes was called upon Friday night to make his playoff debut against the Washington Capitals — not as the starter but in relief of the injured Samuel Montembeault — he again handled the situation with his usual aplomb. Dobes faced eight shots in slightly more than 28 minutes, allowing only an Alex Ovechkin goal early in the third period.
Article content
Article content
Montreal defeated Washington 6-3 in Game 3 of the best-of-seven series, narrowing its deficit to 2-1 heading into the fourth game Sunday night at the Bell Centre (6:30 p.m. CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM).
Article content
Article content
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis had no update on Montembeault's condition — he suffered an injury to his right leg or groin — Saturday, saying he was still being evaluated. The coach couldn't say whether Montembeault has been ruled out of Sunday's game and, as of mid-afternoon, Cayden Primeau hadn't been recalled from AHL Laval.
Article content
While the Canadiens didn't practise on Saturday, Dobes was understandably emotional following Friday's game.
'You guys can't imagine how a person feels,' he said at the time. 'I was afraid. I was excited. I was emotional. I was crying at the end. I was a mess.'
Article content
Article content
Dobes became the third goalie in Canadiens history to earn a playoff victory in a relief appearance, following Rogie Vachon (Game 4 of the 1969 quarterfinal) and Charlie Hodge (Game 1 of the 1955 semifinal). For Dobes and Hodge, it also was their playoff debuts.
Article content
Dobes also became just the fifth active netminder to win his first career playoff game in relief. He became just the third Montreal rookie goalie in the past 20 years to earn a win in the post-season, joining Carey Price and Dustin Tokarski.
Article content
'I saw that (Montembeault) was limping on his right leg,' Dobes explained. 'I looked back, talked to our medical trainer. He told me to get ready. I went inside and started doing something to get my adrenalin going. That was pretty much it.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Canucks: Hockey world mourns death of Mark Kirton after long battle with ALS
Darcy Rota's scouting report on his former Vancouver Canucks teammate Mark Kirton includes 'very special person,' along with 'very special team guy.' Kirton played six seasons in the NHL, including parts of three seasons with the Canucks. He had 17 goals for Vancouver in 1984-85. He was diagnosed with ALS ( amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ) — otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease — in 2018, and became a champion to raise money for research to help find a cure. He was a board member of ALS Action Canada. Kirton has died. He was 67. The NHL website recalled how Wayne Gretzky had called Kirton 'a hero to me.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'He was really solid defensively. He could chip in offensively. More than anything, he was a great teammate,' said Rota, 72, whose five-year run with the Canucks ended with the 1983-84 season. 'He was very much one-for-all, all-for one. 'I've got a chance to do a few things for ALS out here and I'm especially happy for that because of the connection with him. Great personality, great teammate. He was always fun to be around. Such a dry sense of humour.' Postmedia's Ben Kuzma did a feature piece on Kirton in June 2022 where Kirton talked about his trip to Vancouver the preceding April to see a pair of games. He had strong ties to the organization. President Jim Rutherford and Kirton were traded for one another in a Dec. 4, 1980 swap between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, and were teammates for a time when Rutherford found his way back to Detroit in 1982-83. Bruce Boudreau was Vancouver's coach at the time, and he and Kirton had been teammates in the Toronto organization. Boudreau told Kuzma then: ' He's still the strongest and bravest man I've ever met. He'll phone me when I'm down. And I'll just sit there and go: 'Kirts, you've got this problem and you're phoning me to lift me up?' He wanted to come here and support us, and even though he has ALS and has lost a lot of his movements, he's so upbeat and positive . You can't help but get excited when you see him. He was the hardest-working guy on the ice and hardest working doing this (ALS advocacy). ' Kirton came to the Canucks as they were looking to rebuild the team after its 1982 Stanley Cup Finals run. He was acquired from the Red Wings on Jan. 17, 1983, in exchange for centre Ivan Boldirev. ' Getting traded there for Boldirev? I told somebody the other day that I don't know if I would make that trade, ' Kirton told Kuzma in regard to get swapped for a 33-goal scorer from the season before. 'My time (in Vancouver) was good there at the beginning (but) the team started to struggle and guess what happens to third and fourth-liners?' Former Maple Leafs defenceman Borje Salming died on Nov. 24, 2022 from ALS. Kirton wrote in an email to Postmedia just before that 'i t breaks my heart that anyone and their family should have to go through this. 'Make noise every time you hear the words ALS. Be loud and try to make a difference. Sooner or later, the more people know about this, then help will come all at once, like a cavalry, and our government will have to take notice,' he continued. 'We still need a better system to qualify for trials and promising drugs, faster pathways for drug approvals and more government-covered hours for home care. More than anything, after 100 years, we need to focus on finding a cure . ' According to the Mayo Clinic, ALS is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and causes loss of muscle control. The disease gets worse over time. @SteveEwen SEwen@
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Canucks: Hockey world mourns death of Mark Kirton after long battle with ALS
Darcy Rota's scouting report on his former Vancouver Canucks teammate Mark Kirton includes 'very special person,' along with 'very special team guy.' Article content Kirton played six seasons in the NHL, including parts of three seasons with the Canucks. He had 17 goals for Vancouver in 1984-85. He was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) — otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease — in 2018, and became a champion to raise money for research to help find a cure. He was a board member of ALS Action Canada. Article content Article content Article content 'He was really solid defensively. He could chip in offensively. More than anything, he was a great teammate,' said Rota, 72, whose five-year run with the Canucks ended with the 1983-84 season. 'He was very much one-for-all, all-for one. Article content 'I've got a chance to do a few things for ALS out here and I'm especially happy for that because of the connection with him. Great personality, great teammate. He was always fun to be around. Such a dry sense of humour.' Article content Postmedia's Ben Kuzma did a feature piece on Kirton in June 2022 where Kirton talked about his trip to Vancouver the preceding April to see a pair of games. He had strong ties to the organization. President Jim Rutherford and Kirton were traded for one another in a Dec. 4, 1980 swap between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, and were teammates for a time when Rutherford found his way back to Detroit in 1982-83. Article content Article content Bruce Boudreau was Vancouver's coach at the time, and he and Kirton had been teammates in the Toronto organization. Article content Article content Boudreau told Kuzma then: 'He's still the strongest and bravest man I've ever met. He'll phone me when I'm down. And I'll just sit there and go: 'Kirts, you've got this problem and you're phoning me to lift me up?' He wanted to come here and support us, and even though he has ALS and has lost a lot of his movements, he's so upbeat and positive. You can't help but get excited when you see him. He was the hardest-working guy on the ice and hardest working doing this (ALS advocacy).' Article content Article content Kirton came to the Canucks as they were looking to rebuild the team after its 1982 Stanley Cup Finals run. He was acquired from the Red Wings on Jan. 17, 1983, in exchange for centre Ivan Boldirev.
Edmonton Journal
3 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Smurf City: Edmonton Oilers now faster but smaller on the wing. Does size matter?
Article content This in from TSN stats analyst Travis Yost, his rating of the Edmonton Oilers wingers in the third tier in the NHL, with Florida, Tampa, the Wild, the Lightning and Los Angeles in the first tier out of five. Article content Yost had this to say on the Oilers wings: 'The Andrew Mangiapane signing was sorely needed and filled a critical role in their middle six. Not only is he a regular point producer, here's something else to consider: he's never finished a season with a negative on-ice goal differential at even strength.' Article content Article content Yost has previously rated the Oil's defence in the first tier and their goalies in the fourth tier. Article content Article content 1. One of the eternal debates in the NHL is how many smaller players a team can have and still be competitive. This is an issue for the Oilers because Florida's forwards were bigger, tougher and more aggressive than Edmonton's forwards in the Stanley Cup Final — and since that time the Oilers have said good-bye to two larger, tougher forwards in Corey Perry and Evander Kane, this after losing Dylan Holloway and Warren Foegele last summer. Article content The loss of such size and skill represents a major blow to the Oilers, with the absence of power forwards Kane and Holloway especially an issue come playoff time. Article content 2. Mangiapane may indeed be a strong two-way forward, as Yost suggests, but he's also part of an inflow of smaller wingers to the team, with him, Isaac Howard and Matt Savoie all being counted on to make major contributions. Article content Article content Article content 3. Howard is variously listed at 5-feet-10 or 5-feet-11 and 180 or 190 pounds. Savoie is listed at 5-feet, 9-inches, 179 pounds, with Mangiapane at 5-feet, 10-inches, 183 pounds. Troy Stecher is listed at 5-feet, 10-inches, 184-pounds. Do I believe these height and weight numbers? Hmm. Article content But what's clear is that in Edmonton's Top Nine, the Oilers counting on three new smaller wingers, and that goes along with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Henrique, neither of them big or bulky players. When it comes to size, the Oilers have Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, playoff power forward Zach Hyman, tough guy Trent Frederic, newcomer David Tomasek and aggressive Vasily Podkolzin as Top 9 candidates. Article content 4. There have been some relatively successful smaller teams in the past, with Herb Brooks' early 1980s New York Rangers, known as The Smurfs, winning more than they lost in the regular season, but winning just two playoff series in four years. That team had a plethora of fast and smaller players such as Miracle on Icers Mark Pavelich and Rob McLanahan, Swedish stars Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg, former WHA Oilers ace Mike Rogers, former WHA ace Robbie Ftorek, ex-Medicine Hat Tiger Ed Johnstone, and Finnish d-man sensation Reijo Ruotsalainen, who would win two Cups with the Oilers in 1987 and 1990.
