The Canadian is on an incredible run: he is 6-1-1 in his last eight games… even if he has just gone through a schedule cre*ss not obvious.
But be careful! Montrealers are not out of the woods yet.
They will play four games in six nights this week, in three different cities – and time zones.
Tuesday @ Utah, 9:00 p.m. Quebec time
Thursday @ Dallas, 8:00 p.m. Quebec time
Saturday vs Maple Leafs, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday vs Rangers, 7:00 p.m.
At least the team had time to leave two days before their match played at altitude this time, and not only a few hours before as had been the case before going to Denver about ten days ago.
The CH actually arrived in Salt Lake City yesterday and will be training in a few hours on the ice at the Salt Lake City arena. Utah Hockey Club.
Back to the question of altitude…
It is often said that players have difficulty acclimating to the lower oxygen levels in the air of Denver, a city that is located at 1,609 meters above sea level, but since Salt Lake City has only just entering the NHL, we seem to be unaware that the city is located 1,300 meters above the sea. Almost as much as Denver…
The CH therefore yes, wanted to acclimatize to the time change, but also to the level of oxygen in the air, by leaving two days earlier than the meeting against André Tourigny’s band.
With four games in six nights – and a second caliber goalie for a few weeks – there is reason to believe that Martin St-Louis and Éric Raymond will opt for the option of giving two starts to Montembeault and two starts to Dobes this week .
My prediction: Montembeault will play tomorrow in Salt Lake City and Saturday against the Leafs, while Dobes will defend the net Habs Thursday in Dallas and Sunday against the Rangers.
I could be wrong, that said.
Montembeault overused
Why do I see a split 50-50 ?
Because Samuel Montembeault is the goalkeeper who has played the most matches in the East this season: 33.
He is also the one who has obtained the most starts in the East: 32.
Only Connor Hellebuyck has played more games than Montembeault in 2024-25: 34 (vs 33).
Note that Montembeault has been kicked out of the game several times since the start of the season. #MentalLoad
In today’s NHL, goalies who play too much during the regular season often have difficulty maintaining momentum once the playoffs begin. See Hellebyuck precisely…
Now that we can count on a successful #2 goalkeeper in Jakub Dobes, let’s use him properly… even if in the end, we end up not making the playoffs.
Note that The Athletic surveyed coaches and goalies anonymously and according to them, Samuel Montembeault is one of the worst starting goalies in the entire NHL.
Montembeault is described as being a “low-level starting goalie” and he is ahead of only six goaltenders in the rankings: Darcy Kuemper, Cam Talbot, Dustin Wolf, Petr Mrazek, Elvis Merzlikins and Ivan Fedotov.
The goalies competing with Montembeault for the starting job at the Four Nations tournament are all ranked higher than him according to their peers.
Ouch !
In burst
– Small contract in Columbus.
– As I confirmed to you yesterday, CF Montreal has a new player under contract: Prince Owusu. Here is some general information regarding the new Montreal striker:
– Nathan Saliba is likely to be the next CF Montreal player to fly to Europe.
– The Canadian women’s team has found its coach in chief.
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