The Habs goaltenders will finally have the support of a solid defensive brigade in front of them

Dose
Crédit: Goaltender Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes of the Montreal Canadiens congratulated after 4-2 win against the Florida Panthers.

Since arriving in Montreal via the waivers in 2021, Samuel Montembeault hasn’t exactly had a solid, fully competitive team. He’s been in front of the net since the start of the rebuild orchestrated by Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton, and despite everything, he’s managed to progress and develop to become the Canadiens’ #1 goaltender.

Who would have thought it when Marc Bergevin called for him in the 2021 waivers to fill a hole until Carey Price returned? But now that the Québécois has progressed considerably, it’s about time Monty had a good team in front of him. Last season was clearly better, but far from perfect, as the Québécois more often than not had to save his team with miraculous saves and flawless performances.

It’s been 2-3 years now that Montembeault has been performing well, but the general goaltending statistics don’t show it.

(Credit: HockeyDB.com)

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It’s high time the Québécois could count on a solid defensive brigade in front of him, and above all that he didn’t always have to save his team’s ass. Fortunately, this is very likely to be the case, as the Habs will really be counting on a very good defense, as Jakub Dobes so aptly put it:

“We have a very good defense. They’re young, they’re confident, they’re big… It’ll be a good mix of players.”

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Jakub Dobes

Speaking after yesterday’s KR Classic at Complexe CN in Brossard, the Czech goaltender explained how excited he is about the upcoming season. Dobes is confident with the defense he’ll have in front of him, and he’s right to be, because for the first time in several years, the Habs will be counting on a top-notch defensive brigade.

[Monty and Dobes will be able to breathe a lot easier (at least, we hope so) with this team in front of them, and they fully deserve it after the excellent work they’ve done.

The acquisition of Noah Dobson has a lot to do with it, but also, the progression of the young defensemen will allow the Habs to defend much better. Here’s what I think the Habs are likely to look like on the blue line: Hutson – Carrier Guhle – Dobson Matheson – Struble Xhekaj Of course, I know that many of you will be shocked to see Matheson on the third pair, but that’s not a disavowal, rather I see it as proof of the solidity of the Habs’ defense.

The Habs will be able to count on three extremely solid and complete pairs, each with an offensive touch and a defensive touch. I don’t necessarily see one of these pairs playing less than the others, unless one of them tears it up early in the season. Otherwise, I sincerely believe that a nice rotation between the three pairs will be a very beneficial element for the performances of the two goaltenders, Montembeault and Dobes.

They can’t help but be excited when they see this defense on paper. In short, after several difficult years, the Canadiens are finally counting on a top-notch defense, which will be of great benefit to the Habs’ goaltenders. Monty will tire less quickly, and therefore have less risk of injury. [spacer title=’En Rafale’] – What would you offer if you were Kent Hughes?

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