“It gives me the impression that Jakub Dobes will play tonight.”

The famous 2025-2026 ménage à trois is the talk of the town.

The holiday season and Samuel Montembeault's short stay in Laval have given the storyline some respite, but the subject is still on everyone's lips.

And with good reason.

In recent days, we've seen that Jakub Dobes has skipped his turn in the rotation. In fact, apart from the January 1 game, he hasn't played since the return from the Christmas break.

At some point, he's going to have to play… whether in Montreal or Laval.

On that subject, because he wins so often (he's won seven of his last 11 games and three of his four duels since Jacob Fowler was recalled) and because there's no rush, the Habs haven't sent him to Laval.

Will this happen when the forwards return from injury, when the 23-man roster has to be cleared? That's what Renaud Lavoie (BPM Sports) had to say on the radio this morning.

The journalist reminds us that Fowler isn't going anywhere, as he has the confidence of his bosses. And since Samuel Montembeault is getting better and can't go to Laval without avoiding the waivers…

But since there's no hurry to send Dobes to Laval, and he has to play at some point, the journalist wouldn't be surprised to see the European get the start tonight.

“It gives me the idea that it's him tonight.” – Renaud Lavoie on Jakub Dobes

We'll have some answers at practice (10:30 a.m.) this morning.

The Canucks, who officially announced their rebuild yesterday, are easier prey – although they shouldn't be taken lightly. And Dobes did well against them in October, when he was the flavor of the moment in the NHL.

But let's get back to an important aspect that has an impact on Dobes: the potential return of the injured. This, too, is a topic on everyone's lips around the Canadiens.

When the injured players come back and we have to think about freeing up spots at the top (in the 23-man roster, in fact), Owen Beck and Jakub Dobes are the “easy targets” to send to Laval.

After that, it will be more complex and big decisions will come for HuGo. Unless, of course, further injuries occur and change the game.

Remember that yesterday, Josh Anderson (whose return is visibly imminent, according to Renaud Lavoie), Patrik Laine, and Kirby Dach skated during an optional Habs practice.

All three are nearing a return to action(in all likelihood, at least), and you'd think the same would be true for a guy like Jake Evans. But for him, it could be just a few games away.

Only Alex Newhook is still a long way off, as far as we can see.

Patrik Laine is pulling out all the stops this morning.

He's skating really well and picking up a lot of speed@DLCoulisses #GoHabsGo #Laine #NHL pic.twitter.com/PZnjT1lKU4

– Patrick Guillet (@PatGuillet) January 11, 2026

Keeping three goalies in the NHL won't be a luxury the Canadiens can afford when they have a surplus of forwards… and Dobes deserves to play, no matter what league he ends up in.

If he really plays tonight, I expect to see him put pressure on himself to play well. After all, an ugly performance would put pressure on him a lot.

extension

While we're on the subject of goaltending, Renaud Lavoie says we can expect to see Samuel Montembeault play in one of the next two games.

And since the journalist expects to see Dobes tonight, we can assume that Monty will play tomorrow's game in Washington.

Does that mean we'd give Thursday's game (in Buffalo) to Jacob Fowler and come back with Samuel Montembeault against the Sens on Saturday the 17th? Who knows?

We'll see when the time comes.