Jakub Dobes hit his first real stumbling block during these Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday night.
Having allowed more than three goals just once all postseason, the Montreal Canadiens’ netminder was beaten three times in the first period of Game 5 in Buffalo, which led many to question whether backup Jacob Fowler would see the net.
Head coach Martin St. Louis even considered the move, though he ultimately stuck with his starter, and Dobes delivered the rest of the way, stopping all 27 shots faced from the second period onward. St. Louis was asked after the game about the decision and gave much of the credit to his goalie coach.
“Well, ultimately it’s probably my decision, right, but I feel like the goalie position is probably the one position that I can’t help much with. So I try to stay out of it and not be emotionally driven or upset that we’re down. The first period was chaotic on both sides. So yeah, Trevor radioed up top to our goalie coach, Marco, and he made the call. It was a very quick call too—he said, ‘No, keep him in.’ Okay, let’s move on”
The 24-year-old Dobes wound up making 33 saves on 36 shots in the win, with his playoff numbers now sitting at a sparkling 7-5-0 record, along with a 2.28 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
Dobes has been quite the story taking over the Canadiens’ crease in recent months, and you can certainly understand why St. Louis and company have trust in him even when things get a bit dicey.
Montreal will now have a chance to punch its ticket to the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, with a close-out Game 6 against the Sabres set for Saturday night at 8 p.m. EST at the Bell Centre.
Next: Are the Giants Already Looking to Offload Rafael Devers’ Contract?
