Hockey

Jakub Dobes looks like the best goalie in the NHL right now
Marc-Olivier Cook
Jakub Dobes looks like the best goalie in the NHL right now
Credit: Getty Images

If I had told you back in September that Jakub Dobes might be the NHL's best goalie two weeks into the season, you would have said…

Come on, Cook! Have you fallen on your face?

But right now, that's the conclusion I'm coming to. Jakub Dobes looks like the best goalie in the league right now because he's so, so effective in front of the net. When you look at his stats, it's easy to see that he's… really on fire.

With last night's win, Dobes took his record to 5-0-0 since the start of the campaign.

He has a .940 efficiency rate, a 1.77 goals-against average… and he also excels in the save department with a 9.1 mark.

He leads the league in that department, ahead of Spencer Knight (8.0) and Thatcher Demko (7.1). Dobes is on another planet right now… and it's a sight to behold.

We didn't necessarily expect Dobes to be so smokin' this early in the season. And that… even though he's been really excellent in practice, too.

That said, Jakub Dobes is 24 years old, and it's often at this age (or thereabouts) that goalkeepers are able to reach their peak. Dobes really seems to be at the peak of his powers in front of the net, and he's not the same goalie we saw last season.

In 24-25, he looked a bit mixed up at times. His movements and positioning were questionable… but since the start of the current campaign, we've seen him be much bigger and much more square in goal.

It's making a difference, and it looks like he's feeling confident right now.

Good for the Canadiens. Dobes is 2nd in the league in efficiency and 3rd in the NHL in goals-against average.

If this continues, it'll be hard not to give him more games. At least, if he continues like this and Monty doesn't get back on track… we're likely to see Dobes play more games than we'd originally imagined.


Overtime

– It's been a whirlwind.

– He's good.

– Fair enough .

– Things aren't going well for the Oilers' big defenseman.

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