Kirby Dach scored two goals, Jakub Dobes made 33 saves in his first career start in the NHL and the Montreal club defeated the Florida Panthers 4-0 on Saturday afternoon at Amerant Bank Arena.
Dobes became the first Canadian goalie to record a shutout in his first NHL start since Yann Danis, on October 12, 2005 against the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Habs’ fifth-round pick in 2020, 136th overall, seemed in control from start to finish of the game, often slowing down the Panthers’ momentum by stopping the puck.
Dobes, 23, from Ostrava, Czech Republic, also benefited from a bit of luck. Dmitry Kulikov, in the first period, and Anton Lundell, in the third period, hit the post for the Panthers.
For his part, Dach doubled his goal production this season by having a first two-goal game since January 24, 2023 against the Boston Bruins.
Cole Caufield and Jake Evans also hit the target for the Canadian (15-17-3). Alex Newhook had two assists.
The Canadian ended a streak of nine defeats (0-8-1) on the road against the Panthers. His last victory at Sunrise dates back to December 28, 2018.
Spencer Knight stopped 20 shots in front of the Panthers (22-13-2) net.
Forward Patrik Laine was in uniform for the Canadiens after leaving prematurely the clash against the Columbus Blue Jackets before the Christmas break.
The Habs also confirmed during the meeting that goalkeeper Cayden Primeau was placed on waivers with the aim of demoting him to the Laval Rocket.
The Canadian will play again on Sunday, when he visits the Tampa Bay Lightning starting at 5 p.m.
Simply Beds
Both teams played cautiously in the first half. The two goalkeepers nevertheless stood out.
Dobes quickly stopped a point-blank shot from Lundell, while Knight frustrated Christian Dvorak twice in quick succession following a pass from Brendan Gallagher during a two-on-one attack.
Lane Hutson came to Dobes’ rescue early in the second period, stopping a shot from Aaron Ekblad who thought he was shooting toward an open net. Dobes then made a nice save on a shot from the slot by Sam Bennett.
The Canadian opened the scoring a few moments later, 1:39 into the middle period. Laine did all the work in the opposing zone, then Dach completed a nice exchange started by Kaiden Guhle and Newhook.
The visitors continued to threaten afterwards. Defender Gustav Forsling stopped Caufield from taking a shot during a breakaway, then Caufield hit the crossbar a little later.
The Panthers started to apply a little more pressure afterward, but the Canadian managed to widen the gap with 6:09 left in the period. Newhook launched Dach on a breakaway after a turnover at the Habs blue line. Dach beat Knight with a nice feint and a backhand shot into the top of the net.
The Canadian came back with 2:41 left in the second period. Evans intercepted a beast pass from Sam Reinhart in the neutral zone and orchestrated a two-on-one shorthanded attack. He surprised Knight with a precise shot to the upper part of the shield side.
Evans thus scored a goal in a fourth match in a row.
Dobes made another great save on Bennett midway through the third period. He then saw Caufield deal a blow to the Panthers by scoring his 18th goal of the season with 5:43 left on the clock.
