For the second time in a week, the Montreal Canadiens found themselves taking on a top team in the Eastern Conference in the form of the Carolina Hurricanes. This time, they would have to do it in Carolina’s barn, and would have to do so on very little rest, having just won a game in Nashville that started less than 24 hours prior to this one. In both games against the Hurricanes, the Habs struggled to spend much time in the offensive zone, and yet for the second time, they found a way to get a big two points despite being outplayed.
The common denominator for those wins was Jakub Dobeš, who has been on an absolute tear of late, and has now stolen two wins on his team’s five-game winning streak.
Jakub Dobes has been very busy in this game. It does not appear that this will change. pic.twitter.com/z6CDwisRG6
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) March 29, 2026
Since the Habs have truly embraced Dobeš as their starter, consistency in playing time seems to have given him consistency in terms of performance. His strong relationship with goaltending coach Marco Marciano may also be owed some credit, as he has not only been getting results, but looking more technically polished of late. He may have even been banged up in the second and third periods, after awkwardly stretching for a save at the end of the first seemed to have him out of sorts. Still, he led the Habs back on to the ice, and allowed nothing for 40 minutes to secure the win.
Across just the two Carolina games, the Habs were outshot 78 -36, heavily out-chanced, and yet were able to outscore their foes by a combined score of 8-3. He deserves every ounce of the praise being thrown his way right now, because these wins aren’t just impressive in the way he authored them, but absolutely crucial to the Atlantic playoff race. The teams around them have also kept winning, and this streak led by Dobeš has allowed them to keep pace, with two big games coming up against the Lightning where they stand a chance of improving their position before season’s end.
Now, while Dobeš was without a doubt the star of these two wins over Carolina, we must address the team’s ability to find scoring even on their toughest nights. Gone are the days when Carey Price would stand on his head to give them a chance, and they’d muster a paltry one goal, if even that. This team is capable of giving their goaltender run support without having a plethora of scoring chances, so that when they get performances like these in net, they don’t go to waste.
They’ll want to address some issues like their zone exits that exacerbate the need for Dobeš to do what he’s been doing. Still, it is wonderful to see the team to get goaltending, and find a way to score enough in front of it.
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