It looks like the Canadiens have a new No. 1 goalie.
Jakub Dobes will be in goal for a fourth straight game when the Canadiens play the Utah Mammoth Wednesday in Salt Lake City (9:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS). It will mark the third time in the last four games that Dobes is the starting goalie. The Czech Republic native also came on in relief of Samuel Montembeault after the latter allowed three goals on 10 shots during an 8-4 loss to the Washington Capitals last Thursday at the Bell Centre.
Dobes has a 7-2-2 record, along with a 2.88 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage after stopping 24 of 26 shots in a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night at the Bell Centre that ended a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) for the Canadiens. Montembeault is 4-5-1 with a 3.71 GAA and an .852 save percentage.
The Canadiens have an 11-7-3 record, which had them sitting tied for fifth place in a very tight Atlantic Division heading into Wednesday’s game, only three points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning (13-7-2) while holding a game in hand. The Canadiens are eight points ahead of where they were last season after 21 games, when they had a 7-11-3 record at the quarter mark of the season and went on to make the playoffs for the first time in four years.
Utah has a 12-8-3 record and is in fourth place in the Central Division. The Mammoth is 7-2-1 on home ice.
Defenceman Adam Engstrom will make his NHL debut with the Canadiens on Wednesday night, replacing Arber Xhekaj in the lineup. The Canadiens called Engstrom up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Sunday after he had a goal and four assists in a 7-2 home win over the Belleville Senators on Saturday. In 18 games with the Rocket, Engstrom had 5-9-14 totals and was plus-8. The Canadiens selected the 22-year-old Swede in the third round (92nd overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Following a long-term injury to defenceman Kaiden Guhle (torn adductor muscle) suffered on Oct. 16, Xhekaj played in 16 consecutive games. He had been made a healthy scratch for the only time this season in the game Guhle was injured.
St. Louis told reporters in Utah it was simply a numbers game with Xhekaj now that the team is carrying seven defencemen and not a case of him not playing well. Forward Alexandre Texier, who the Canadiens signed as a free agent on Sunday after he was let go by the St. Louis Blues, won’t be in the lineup against the Mammoth
Engstrom is expected to be on the third defence pairing with Alexandre Carrier.
“It’s a dream come true and I’m really excited for tonight,” Engstrom told reporters in Utah after learning Wednesday morning that he would be in the lineup. “It’s going to be a tough game. Utah is very good. I’m just going to try and go out there and play my best and still enjoy the moment.
“I’m just trying to take in every day I’m here and now I’m going to play,” Engstrom added. “It’s exciting times. … I’m happy, of course. It’s obviously something you’ve dreamed of since you were a little kid and now it’s here. So I can’t wait for this game to begin.”
Nick Schmaltz leads the Mammoth in scoring with 10-12-22 totals, followed by Logan Cooley (13-8-21) and Clayton Keller (8-12-20). Cooley was the third overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft after the Canadiens took Juraj Slafkovsky with the No. 1 pick. Slafkovsky has 6-4-10 totals this season.
The Mammoth, like the Canadiens, has two goalies with save percentages below .900. Karel Vejmelka is 10-5-2 with a 2.76 GAA and an .891 save percentage, while Vitek Vanecek is 2-3-1 with a 2.85 GAA and an .873 save percentage. Vejmelka will start against the Canadiens.
Captain Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with 5-18-23 totals, followed by Cole Caufield (13-9-22), Lane Hutson (3-15-18) and Ivan Demidov (4-13-17).
This will be the second and final game between the Canadiens and Mammoth this season. The Canadiens beat the Mammoth 6-2 at the Bell Centre on Nov. 8.
The Canadiens will fly to Las Vegas after Wednesday’s game and face the Golden Knights on Friday (4 p.m., TSN2, RDS) and then wrap up their three-game road trip Saturday in Denver against the Avalanche (3 p.m., TSN2, RDS).
Related