Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis has decided to start Jakub Dobes in goal Thursday in Dallas when the Canadiens wrap up a four-game road trip against the Stars (8 p.m., TSN2, RDS).
The Canadiens won the first three games of the trip with Jacob Fowler in goal. Fowler stopped 99 of 101 shots during the three games for a .980 save percentage, including all 46 shots he faced in Tuesday night’s 2-0 win over the Blues in St. Louis. Fowler has won his last six games, improving his season record to 6-1 with a 1.54 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage.
Canadiens’ Jakub Dobes makes a trapper save during second period against the San Jose Sharks in Montreal on Oct. 20. Tim Snow / Montreal Gazette
Dobes, who started the season as the No. 1 goalie, hasn’t played since allowing four goals on 26 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 20 at the Bell Centre. Dobes took an interference penalty in OT and the Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini scored the winning goal on the ensuing power play.
Dobes has lost his last four starts, dropping his season record to 1-2-2 with a 4.47 GAA and an .847 save percentage.
With the way Fowler has been playing, there was going to be a lot of heat on Dobes no matter when his next start came and that pressure might be reduced on the road. This summer the Canadiens signed Dobes to a three-year, US$16.05-million contract extension that kicks in next season with an annual salary-cap hit of US$5.35 million. The 25-year-old is earning US$965,000 this season.
The Canadiens will return home after Thursday’s game and will face the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., SNE, TVA Sports) for the first of three straight home games.
The Canadiens don’t play back-to-back games again until Nov. 18-19 in New Jersey and Carolina, so if the Canadiens lose Thursday in Dallas, St. Louis will no doubt be questioned about his decision to start Dobes.
“It’s a bit of everything,” St. Louis told reporters in Dallas Thursday about deciding to start Dobes. “Fowler’s workload, travel, the long weekend in Winnipeg, and a busy game the last game. You try to factor that into your decisions.”
Defenceman Mike Matheson and forward Chris Kreider both skipped practice Wednesday in Dallas, taking therapy days instead. Matheson has played the last three games after missing four games with a lower-body injury. Kreider blocked a shot late in Tuesday’s win over the Blues, but St. Louis told reporters in Dallas that the veteran forward would be OK to play against the Stars.
St. Louis made a change to his forward lines at practice Wednesday, moving Alex Newhook up to centre the No. 1 line between Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky. Oliver Kapanen, who had been the No. 1 centre for the last three games following an upper-body injury to captain Nick Suzuki, dropped down to a line with Josh Anderson and Owen Beck, who was taking Kreider’s spot.
With Kapanen at centre, the No. 1 line failed to score a goal in the last three games. Kapanen was held pointless, while Caufield had two assists and Slafkovsky had one assist.
The Canadiens are 6-1-1 in their last eight games and improved to 7-3-2 with Tuesday’s win over the Blues. After the victory, the Canadiens were in second place in the Atlantic Division, three points behind the Boston Bruins (9-3-1) while holding a game in hand.
The Canadiens split their two games against the Stars last season, losing 7-0 at the Bell Centre on Nov. 13 and winning 4-3 in overtime in Dallas on Jan. 4. Dobes was in goal for the game at the Bell Centre and allowed five goals on 13 shots before being replaced by Samuel Montembeault. Montembeault stopped 24 of 27 shots in the overtime win in Dallas.
The Stars have a 3-1-1 record in their last five games against the Canadiens. The Canadiens and Stars will meet for the second and final time this season on Dec. 27 at the Bell Centre.
The 21-year-old Fowler has made the most of his opportunity since getting called up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket after Montembeault suffered a lower-body injury in practice on Oct. 7 before playing a game this season.
“He’s been doing it all his career,” Florian Xhekaj, who played with Fowler in Laval the last two seasons and scored his first NHL goal Tuesday night against the Blues, told reporters in St. Louis. “Ever since he came in Laval for his first game in Belleville, I still remember it. He played unbelievable and then he just kind of rides the momentum. He’s just so calm in the net, it’s so easy to play when he’s back there.”
Editor’s Picks