The Montreal Canadiens shouldn’t have won their season opener, but they did, and they did it because of Samuel Montembeault. While the teams gave up 48 shots to one of the league’s most threatening offenses, the goaltender stood on his head and won the game.
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It was Montembeault making a statement, “Look just how good I can be.” In his next game, he faced a more reasonable 25 shots against the Ottawa Senators, only letting one of them get by him. He finished the game with a .960 save percentage for that second tilt.
But then, as the team struggled against the Pittsburgh Penguins (6-3 loss), Los Angeles Kings (4-1 defeat), and New York Rangers (7-2 trouncing), so did Montembeault, who ended these contests with .828, .903, and a backbreaking .600 save percentage. Of course, those led to his numbers plummeting to a .909 save percentage and a 3.16 goals-against average, a far cry from the 0.50 he started the season with.
Related: Canadiens: Montembeault Will Be Ready to Go
Will the Canadiens’ losing streak cost him a spot on Team Canada for the Four Nations Face-Off? I don’t think so. Luckily for Montembeault, the days of Martin Brodeur, Carey Price, and Roberto Luongo are long gone. There is no surefire number one in the country’s crease anymore.
Sure, Jordan Binnington seems to have the inside lane for now (2.63 GAA and .914 SP in five games, but he’s not exactly been consistent throughout his career. As for Stuart Skinner, who many were ready to give the net to because he took the Edmonton Oilers to the cup final, he’s struggling this season with a 3.74 GAA and a .866 SP in five games. It’s not unknown territory for him, though.
Who else could be in the conversation? Well, the top Canadian goalies statistically speaking this season (those already mentioned excluded) are Joel Hofer, Marc-Andre Fleury, James Reimer, Eric Comrie, and Jake Allen.
The cupboard isn’t exactly stacked, and for Montembeault, Hockey Canada is likely to remember how he took them to a goal medal at the 2023 World Championships thanks to a 6-1 record, a 1.42 GAA, and a .939 SP. Considering the defense corps that is likely to patrol the Canadian team’s blueline, it’s easy to know the goaltender will get a lot more support than what he’s getting in Montreal right now. If I had to bet, I would have put some money on the Canadiens’ number one making the roster.
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