How Important Are the Canadiens Goalies in the Playoffs?

If the Montreal Canadiens make the postseason, one key to their success will be their goaltending. In fact, the question of their success might lie entirely in the crease. Right now, they don’t have one clear answer. They have three different versions — each telling a different story about where this team is and where it might be going.

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Jacob Fowler: The Young Goalie Who Calms Things Down

Jacob Fowler has just begun his NHL career. He doesn’t make much noise, and that kind of calm is exactly the point. He’s young, but when he’s in the net, the game feels organized. Shots come in, shots get handled, rebounds don’t explode into chaos.

His numbers back it up. So far, he’s put up a .912 save percentage and a 2.37 goals-against average. Even in a small sample size, you get the feeling this success didn’t happen by accident. But more than his stats, the way he plays tells the story. Fowler looks set before the shot arrives. He trusts his positioning. He doesn’t overreact.

He hasn’t been leaned on heavily yet, and that could matter. Montreal hasn’t asked him to survive nights where the structure falls apart. Still, when they want predictability, Fowler could become the guy they turn to.

Right now, young as he is, he’s setting the standard for the Canadiens, even if the workload hasn’t caught up yet.

Jakub Dobes: The Goalie Who Takes the Beating

Jakub Dobes lives on the other end of the Canadiens spectrum. He’s seen the most rubber, the most breakdowns, and the most nights where the plan goes sideways.

His raw numbers won’t impress anyone at a quick glance. That said, the context matters. Dobes is the goalie Montreal throws out there when things are messy. He battles. He absorbs minutes. He keeps the team alive in games that could get ugly fast.

Thirteen wins tell you that the Canadiens can win with him in the crease, even when a game isn’t clean. What he’s still learning is how to limit damage when the game tilts. He needs refinement in rebound control, handling traffic in front of the crease, and dealing with bad bounces. If he’s going to take the next step, that’s where the refinement has to come.

Dobes isn’t the calmest option. But, right now, he’s the durable one.

Sam Montembeault: The Goalie Who’s Carrying the Weight of Expectations

Sam Montembeault is the toughest of the three goalies to evaluate. The experience is there. The trust used to be there. Right now, the results aren’t.

He had a solid game last night against the Florida Panthers, but his season numbers (.869 save percentage and 3.39 GAA) suggest he was fighting the play rather than managing it. That doesn’t mean the ability vanished overnight, but it does suggest that his confidence is slipping. Either that or his margin for error has disappeared behind a leaky structure in front of him.

Montembeault looks like a goalie trying to hold things together while the game pulls at him from every direction. Sometimes that works. Lately, it hasn’t. For a veteran, that’s a dangerous place to be, especially when younger options are pushing.

What Montreal Actually Has Heading Toward the Playoffs

The Canadiens’ goalie system isn’t a three-goalie logjam. It’s a ladder. Fowler looks like the most dependable right now. Dobes looks like the one who can survive the grind. Finally, Montembeault looks like a goalie at a crossroads.

That’s not a crisis for the Canadiens heading into the postseason, but it isn’t much comfort either. If the Canadiens are serious about winning the race to a playoff spot, the net has to be about results. That likely means riding the hot hand, managing minutes carefully, and resisting the urge to force a hierarchy that doesn’t reflect performance.

Fowler gives them a playoff-style profile: calm, controlled, mistake-resistant. Dobes gives them durability down the stretch. Montembeault gives them experience — if his game comes back.

The truth is, Montreal probably will get in because the team is good enough. That doesn’t mean they have found a superstar goalie. If they get in at all, it’ll be because they managed the crease smartly, limited the damage on bad nights, and didn’t burn anyone out before the games started to feel like April.

Fowler gives them hope. Dobes gives them stamina. Montembeault gives them one last question to answer. That might be enough to get them there — but only if the team choose wisely, and one of these young goalies can get hot when it matters.

Related: Is the Canadiens’ Lane Hutson the Hardest Working NHL Player?