Needing a win to keep pace in the Atlantic playoff race, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the top team in the entire conference on Tuesday in the form of the Carolina Hurricanes. After a horrific start saw them down two goals in the first period, they went on to score five unanswered goals, securing two points that didn’t seem within the realm of possibility in the early goings.
At the centre of their comeback win was Jakub Dobeš, who stonewalled the Hurricanes after their two early goals.
Montréal, ça va?!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/uF72nKsNSm
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 25, 2026
The first goal to go in was an unfortunate deflection off Mike Matheson in front. On the second, Jordan Staal found himself so completely alone in front of the net that he had time to prepare his tax return before shooting. It would be quite hard to fault Dobeš for the score being what it was, and with the sheer volume that Carolina were putting on the net, it seemed like he was in for a rough night.
But he was unbeatable after those two goals. His positioning looked very good, and his movement looked as efficient as it ever has. He was also very active in coming out of his net to play the puck, trying to help his defencemen deal with the relentless pressure that the Hurricanes were utilizing to disrupt puck movement in the Habs’ zone. Carolina’s game plan was clear; pressure all night, and fire away with any sort of clean lane towards the net. Dobeš responded by getting more active in playing the puck, and snatching down any shots he could to get whistles and back them off. It was a truly impressive performance in more ways than one.
Luckily, he was only on an island out there for parts of the game. The Habs overcame a brutal start to find their rhythm against that hellacious Carolina checking game, in no small part thanks to the likes of Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovksy. Outshot heavily in the first and third periods, they played their best during the second frame, which is where they would take a lead that Dobeš would ultimately ensure was enough.
Ivan Demidov was dancing all over the ice with the puck in this game, using his elite stick handling to evade the aforementioned pressure and try to create space. He nearly scored a goal of the year candidate, was frustrated when that didn’t go in for him, and then found himself a highlight-reel goal at a huge moment in the game to give the team some insurance.
Ivan Demidov wins the race against Miller, undresses Andersen and sends the Bell Centre into a frenzy.
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) March 25, 2026
4-2 #Habs pic.twitter.com/Ho8DgoRsPm
Dobeš was the star in this game, of that there is no doubt. When you’re outshot 43-19, you will tend to have a tough time picking up points, but solid goaltending is the best way to overcome such statistics. He got enough help from his teammates in front of him on the scoring front, again showing that this Habs team can’t be taken lightly, because they have the offensive talent to score in bunches even when their shooting volume is a lot lower than they’d like it to be.
When they’re getting goaltending like they did last night, it makes them a very difficult team to beat.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back for another game with big playoff implications when the Habs host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
