Riding high on a four-game winning streak, the Montreal Canadiens were back in action at the Bell Centre on Saturday looking to extend their streak against the New York Rangers. They jumped out to an early two-goal lead, but fell victim to the trap of the worst lead in hockey, and ultimately lost by a score of 4-3. There was plenty of blame to go around, some for things under their control, and some not.
After the game, Samuel Montembeault shouldered the blame for the loss. While it wouldn’t be fair to lay that loss at his feet alone, there’s no denying that he hasn’t been at his usual level to start this season.
Sam Montembeault tonight in a 4-3 Habs loss to the NY Rangers:
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) October 19, 2025
– 22 shots against
– 4 goals against
– 4.21 GAA
– .818 save % pic.twitter.com/4FX4QzBrSR
While it is still early in the season, he just doesn’t look very comfortable in his crease, and even when he squares up to shots, he doesn’t seem to be steering his rebounds away from trouble as he would have last year. He’s always struggled a bit more against point shots than those of other varieties, but the goal from Matthew Robertson was one where he himself noted he has to make a save.
As the Habs’ fan base is one never known to overreact, we’ve seen everything from calls for Jakub Dobes to take over as the starter, to demands for Jacob Fowler to be called up. While it is understandable for their to be some frustration after a few games where Montembeault hasn’t been up to par, he has at least earned some leeway from this coaching staff, even if the fans aren’t as lenient.
They have to let him play his way out of this, and hope that he’ll be able to. That being said, every point in the standings is extremely valuable, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to move towards more of an even split between him and Dobes until and unless he can shake off whatever is holding him back. the Czech netminder may only have two starts so far, but he has looked more polished and more comfortable in net than his Canadian counterpart.
It is far too early to press the panic button, but the early returns at least suggest that the coaches should start exploring that even split.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back on Monday night, when the Habs will host the Buffalo Sabres for the final game of the home stand.
