It was a game for the ages, and it might have been the precursor Samuel Montembeault required to set the table for his finest NHL season.
Now, the Canadiens’ goaltender must try to repeat history.
“It was a great game, obviously. I remember I had goosebumps … before the game,” Montembeault said Tuesday after practice in Brossard. “It’s always an intense game, always a fun game to start the season against them.”
Montembeault made 48 saves in the Canadiens’ season-opening 1-0 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Oct. 9 at the Bell Centre. Montembeault established an NHL record for the most stops during an opening-game shutout. Indeed, the 48 saves were the second-highest in franchise history behind Jacques Plante, who stopped 52 shots against Chicago on Nov. 13, 1955.
As expected, Montembeault will be Montreal’s starter Wednesday, when the Canadiens begin their regular-season schedule against the Leafs in Toronto (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM).
The 6-foot-3, 218-pound Montembeault is entering his fifth season with Montreal and is hoping to continue establishing himself as one of the NHL’s leading netminders. While many critics have suggested the Canadiens’ goaltending needs improvement, the 28-year-old went 31-24-7 last season in 62 games (60 starts). He had a 2.82 goals-against average, a .902 save percentage and a career-high four shutouts.
And while Montembeault didn’t play any games, he was part of Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, practising against, and rubbing shoulders with, some of the NHL’s elite players.
“Obviously, you want to start the right way,” Montembeault said. “We didn’t have that good of a start to the season last year. But we showed at the end of the year how we need to play. When we do that, we’re going to have success. It’s important that we start on time this year and we stay consistent like that for 82 games.
“I feel excited for sure,” added the native of Bécancour. “All summer, every time I was talking to some fans, everybody’s so excited for the season to actually start. We made some good acquisitions this summer. I’m excited to start. It’s always good games against the Leafs.”
Whether Montembeault will be relied on as extensively this season remains to be seen. The Canadiens will play on consecutive nights 17 times this season, the first coming Thursday, when the team travels to Detroit before concluding its three-game road trip Saturday in Chicago.
The Canadiens are stronger in net with Jakub Dobes backing up Montembeault instead of Cayden Primeau. Dobes was 7-4-3 in 16 games last season, along with a 2.74 G.A.A. and a .909 save percentage. He also shut out Florida on the road in his NHL debut on Dec. 28. Primeau, meanwhile, was claimed off waivers by Toronto after signing with Carolina last summer.
Montreal Canadiens’ Patrik Laine, right, and Kirby Dach look on during training camp session in Brossard on Sept. 18.
“We have a lot of back-to-back games this year,” Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said. “I assume Dobes will play (at least) 17 games. To me, there’s still some merit involved.”
Montembeault doesn’t have a set number of games he’d like to play, but understands the schedule is condensed this season due to the February break for the Olympics.
“The schedule’s crowded. Obviously, you’ve got to listen to the body. Last year, even going into Game 62 at the end of the year, my body still felt good. We’ll go game by game and just try to be ready for every game.”
The Canadiens made three significant off-season moves, led by the acquisition of defenceman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders. They also added forwards Zachary Bolduc and Joe Veleno. They’ll also have dynamic Russian forward — and early rookie-of-the-year candidate — Ivan Demidov for a full season.
Management believes the additions will lead to an improvement. Montreal (40-31-11) claimed the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference, but didn’t clinch its post-season spot until its final game against Carolina and the Hurricanes’ depleted roster.
While the Canadiens fell to Washington in the opening round of the playoffs, lasting only five games, the excitement of qualifying for the first time in four seasons overshadowed any disappointment. However, expectations are higher this season.
“I like our team’s enthusiasm,” Montembeault said. “We have a great group. Everybody’s excited to come to the rink. It’s always easier to go on the ice and work when you’re having fun. I’m confident in our group. We have a great group that wants to push for each other, fight for each other.
“We showed at the end of the year we can compete with every team and we can have some success. We’re just going to have to be consistent in our effort and performance every night.”
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