It was thanks to Marco Marciano that Jakub Dobes finished the game

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
It was thanks to Marco Marciano that Jakub Dobes finished the game
Credit: Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images

Last night got off to a rough start for Jakub Dobes.

After giving up three goals on his first four shots (including a nasty one he'd like to take back—the third goal, that is), the Canadiens' goalie had many fans worried.

He finally got back on track (after getting roughed up by the Sabres) and stopped the next 32 shots. Nothing less, right?

After the game, Dobes admitted he thanked Martin St-Louis for keeping him in net. He said he was proud to have had the chance to bounce back and help his team win.

But in reality, as Martin St-Louis said, it's Marco Marciano who deserves the credit.

While the coaches on the bench were hesitating and didn't know whether to keep the goalie in the game or not, the goaltending coach was consulted.

His message to Martin St-Louis: keep him in the game. And that's exactly what happened.

The players trusted Dobes, but so did the coaches. And St. Louis, for his part, trusted his assistant, who has been working with Dobes since their days with the Laval Rocket.

In the end, the coach decided what he needed to do, but he based his decision on Marciano's advice. Let's just say Marciano isn't going anywhere this summer. #Interim

Remember that, in the meantime, the Sabres chose to keep playing musical chairs. Alex Lyon, who started the first three games of the series, returned to action in Game 3.

That didn't change much. And normally, when you do that, you don't win your series…

Understated as it may seem, this is another Canadiens victory following a loss. Jakub Dobes, who is even more confident this morning instead of possibly being down, has demonstrated his strength of character.

And he's proving once again that a loss in the 2026 playoffs doesn't scare him.

The Habs' challenge now will be to not get their minds on the Hurricanes just yet. They'll need killer instinct and to win Game 6 to prevent the first-round scenario (losing Game 6 while leading the series 3-2) from repeating itself.

We'll find out tomorrow.


overtime

– Lindy Ruff didn't like seeing the Habs collapse. He probably didn't like what his players did yesterday…

– The Habs' best players were the best yesterday.

– Cole Caufield celebrates others' goals more than his own… and it's the same for a lot of the guys on the team.

– The power of comebacks.

– Still.

– The Habs were perfect on special teams (2-for-2 on the power play and 0-for-2 on the penalty kill) and won 56% of their faceoffs.

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