Jakub Dobes shines again in (yet another) Canadiens victory

Félix Forget
Jakub Dobes shines again in (yet another) Canadiens victory
Credit: DansLesCoulisses.com

After winning the first two games of their road trip, the Canadiens were looking to extend their winning streak tonight as they visited the Tampa Bay Lightning.

For the occasion, Josh Anderson was back in the Habs' lineup.

Jakub Dobes was the team's starting goaltender.

For the Lightning, Nikita Kucherov returned to action after missing two games due to illness.

Here's what it looked like for the home team:

Midway through the first period, the Canadiens found themselves with a man advantage… and once again, the team's power play delivered.

Juraj Slafkovský celebrated his 22nd birthday (his birthday was yesterday) with his 29th goal of the season.

The team's lead, however, lasted barely over a minute: Jake Guentzel tied the game shortly after.

He beat not only Dobes but also the Habs' defense.

After 20 minutes, the score was 1-1.

In the second period, Slafkovský made a magnificent play to set up one of his linemates.

That allowed Cole Caufield to score his 47th goal of the season… and the naysayers will say he finally scored his first into an empty net, hehe.

At the very end of the period, while the Habs were on the power play, the Lightning found themselves on a breakaway.

Jakub Dobes, however, was ready for the challenge, positioned well in front of his net.

After 40 minutes, the score was 2-1 in favor of the Habs.

In the third period, the Lightning had some great scoring chances, but the Habs held on.

With four minutes left in the game, Nick Suzuki was called for a double-check (a questionable call), then Jake Evans delivered a hard hit to Nikita Kucherov.

He got away with a minor penalty… and took Darren Raddysh to the bench with him. Things got seriously heated between these two teams tonight.

The Lightning pulled their goalie afterward to try to tie the game… but in the end, it didn't pay off: Mike Matheson scored into an empty net.

You could feel the Habs breathe a sigh of relief after that goal.

And then, Nick Suzuki sealed the deal with an empty-net goal.

And this happened while Cole Caufield was on the ice—a rare occurrence in such a situation.

It's worth noting that at the very end of the game, several fights broke out on the ice after Erik Cernak checked Nick Suzuki.

If these two teams face off in the playoffs, some messages were sent tonight.

Final score: 4-1 Montreal

The Canadiens will be back in action Thursday night when they travel to New York to face the Rangers.


Overtime

– Jakub Dobes was phenomenal once again tonight. He was bombarded with shots all night long, but he found a way to stay confident despite it all. He was significantly better than in his last start against the Lightning, where he allowed three goals in 19:50 before being pulled from the game.

– Cole Caufield scored (again) tonight. He's on an absolutely surreal pace… but more importantly, he scored another game-winning goal. Maybe the Lightning were onto something when they showed a graphic stating that Caufield has scored 1,040 game-winning goals this season, hehe.

– The Habs' defense didn't have its best game with Alexandre Carrier on the bench. Remember that the team is currently playing with five left-handed defensemen who are all more comfortable on the left than on the right. I have a feeling we'll see Adam Engström (a lefty, but one who's more comfortable on the right) in the lineup Thursday night.

– Not bad, him.

– Joe Veleno is the perfect 13th forward for the Habs right now. He can play center or wing, holds his own on the penalty kill, and brings a ton of energy when he steps onto the ice. If he wants to return in the same role next year, that would be good news for the team.

– A good night in the standings for the Habs.

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