Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Dazzles in season opener
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Montembeault turned aside 48 shots in Wednesday's 1-0 win over the Maple Leafs.
Toronto fired at least 13 shots at Monty in every period, but the 27-year-old shone in the spotlight of Montreal's season opener and completely shut down Auston Matthews and company for his second career shutout. Montembeault has never posted a GAA below 3.00 in the NHL, so while he's locked in as the No. 1 netminder for the Canadiens, nights like this are likely to be few and far between without a significant improvement by the defense in front of him.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Between pipes versus Leafs
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Montembeault will tend the twine at home against Toronto on Wednesday.
Montembeault is expected to carry the load for the Habs this season and could surpass his career-high 41 games played from last year. The Quebec native went 16-15-9 with a 3.14 GAA and zero shutouts in those contests, so he'll probably need to step up his game to avoid losing starts. With Montreal kicking off the 2024-25 campaign with a back-to-back, Cayden Primeau should get the nod on the road against Boston on Thursday.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Tough night against Sens
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Montembeault turned aside 15 of 19 shots in Saturday's preseason loss to the Senators.
A hat trick by Shane Pinto, including goals on the power play and shorthanded, accounted for most of the damage against Montembeault in a 4-2 loss. The 27-year-old netminder has struggled to produce useful fantasy ratios the last two seasons behind a leaky Montreal defense, but he still heads into 2024-25 as the top man in the crease for the Canadiens.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Set to start Saturday
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Montembeault is slated to start in Saturday's road game against Ottawa, per Murray Pam of Full Press Hockey.
Montembeault will play in Montreal's preseason finale. He posted a 16-15-9 record, 3.14 GAA and .903 save percentage in 41 regular-season appearances in 2023-24. The 27-year-old netminder will likely be in the net for the Canadiens on Opening Night against Toronto on Wednesday. Cayden Primeau is set to begin the season as Montreal's No. 2 netminder.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Set to start
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Montembeault will patrol the home crease Saturday in preseason action against Toronto, per Simon-Olivier Lorange of La Presse.
Montembeault made 11 saves on 11 shots in a 3-0 exhibition win over New Jersey on Tuesday in 31:28 of playing time. He is expected to share Saturday's contest with Cayden Primeau. Montembeault is projected to start the upcoming campaign as Montreal's No. 1 netminder, while Primeau will be the backup.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Gets starting nod Tuesday
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Montembeault will guard the home goal versus the Devils in Tuesday's preseason game, Guillaume Lefrancois of La Presse reports.
Montembeault enters his first preseason game as the presumptive No. 1 in goal for the Canadiens. He posted a 16-15-9 record with a 3.14 GAA and a .903 save percentage over 41 appearances last year, which was his best of five NHL campaigns. That said, his grasp on the starting job is tenuous, especially if Cayden Primeau takes a large step forward in 2024-25.
Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Suffers overtime loss
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Montembeault gave up five goals on 35 shots (.857 save percentage) in Monday's 5-4 overtime loss to Detroit.
Montembeault likely has played his final game of the season with the Habs back in action versus Detroit at home Tuesday. The netminder needed just one more win to top the 16 he put up last campaign, but he's instead poised to finish the year tied with that number again. Looking ahead to 2024-25, the 27-year-old Montembeault should enter the campaign as the presumptive No. 1, though Cayden Primeau could challenge for more opportunities.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Tending twine Monday
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Montembeault will defend the cage against Detroit on the road Monday.
Montembeault is likely playing in his last game of the season due to the Canadiens' season-ending back-to-back. If that's the case, the 27-year-old Quebec native enters the game with a chance to set his career-high mark in wins after recording 16 through his 40 appearances this year. Look for Cayden Primeau to get the nod at home against Detroit on Tuesday.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Stops 28 in OT loss
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Montembeault stopped 28 of 31 shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Islanders.
Montembeault was sharp Thursday, holding the Islanders to single goals in the second and third periods before ultimately surrendering the game-winner to Kyle Palmieri in overtime. Overall, the 27-year-old Montembeault is 16-15-8 with a .904 save percentage and 3.10 GAA this season. Cayden Primeau figures to get the starting nod Saturday in Ottawa, which would put Montembeault on track for his final start of the season Monday in Detroit.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Between pipes Thursday
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Montembeault will tend the twine on the road against the Islanders on Thursday.
Montembeault has given up three or more goals in five of his last seven contests while registering a 3-3-1 record and 3.07 GAA. Given the Habs' recent goalie rotation, the 27-year-old backstop could play his final game of the season versus the Red Wings on Monday, with Cayden Primeau taking the other two remaining contests.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Great bounce-back game
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Montembeault made 33 saves in a 9-3 win over the Flyers on Tuesday.
Montembeault was busy, but he was also staked a 6-0 lead heading into the third frame and never relinquished it. Montembeault played a great bounce-back game after being yanked Saturday night after yielding four goals on 12 shots to Toronto. This season, he's 16-15-7 with a 3.10 GAA and .904 save percentage with no shutouts.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: In goal Tuesday
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Montembeault will get the starting nod at home against the Flyers on Tuesday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Montembeault has struggled to pick up victories all season, especially in his last 10 outings where he is 2-5-3 with a 2.93 GAA. Looking into the final few games of the season, the 27-year-old backstop figures to continue splitting the workload with Cayden Primeau -- a trend that could carry over into the 2024-25 campaign.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Wheels come off in second period
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Montembeault allowed four goals on 12 shots Saturday before being pulled in the second period of a 4-2 loss to Toronto.
He was great in the first frame, but the wheels came off in the second period. Montembeault allowed two goals 17 seconds apart early in the middle period and surrendered two more in a 34-second span less than five minutes later. Cayden Primeau stopped all 18 shots he faced after entering the game at the 7:54 mark of the second stanza. Since Feb. 10, Montembeault has amassed a 3-7-3 record in 13 starts, although Saturday was only the third time in that span that he allowed four or more goals. He has quietly shown the Habs that he may be their netminder of the future.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Facing Maple Leafs
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Montembeault will defend the home crease versus Toronto on Saturday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Montembeault was stellar Tuesday as he turned aside 37 shots in a 5-3 win over Florida. He could have some trouble Saturday as the Canadiens will be without the services of blueliners Kaiden Guhle (upper body) and Arber Xhekaj (upper body). Montembeault is 15-14-7 with a 3.03 GAA and a .906 save percentage. The Maple Leafs rank third in the NHL with 271 goals this campaign.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Busy in 15th win
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Montembeault made 37 saves in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Panthers.
It was the first time since Jan. 25 that Montembeault had faced 40 or more shots in a game, but he was up to the challenge. The 27-year-old goalie is up to 15 wins on the season, one short of the career high he set in 2022-23, and he's allowed three goals or less in 10 of his last 11 starts, posting a solid 2.62 GAA and .914 save percentage over that stretch.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting Tuesday
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Montembeault will be guarding the home crease against the Panthers on Tuesday, per Anthony Martineau of TVA Sports.
Montembeault stopped 27 of 29 shots en route to a 3-0 loss at home to Carolina in his last start Saturday. The 27-year-old has been solid this season, recording a .905 save percentage and a 14-14-7 record in 36 games played. He will look to establish himself as the Habs' No. 1 goaltender going into next year after Jake Allen was traded to New Jersey at this year's deadline.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Falls to Canes
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Montembeault allowed two goals on 29 shots in Saturday's 3-0 loss to Carolina. The third tally was an empty-netter.
Montembeault played well Saturday, holding the Hurricanes to a shorthanded goal in the second period and a power-play marker in the third. However, the Habs couldn't solve Pyotr Kochetkov at the other end in an eventual 3-0 defeat. The 27-year-old Montembeault has gone 1-4-3 over his last eight outings despite posting a respectable .912 save percentage in that span. Overall, Montembeault is 14-14-7 this season with a .905 save percentage and a 3.03 GAA.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting vs. Carolina
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Montembeault will guard the home net Saturday against the Hurricanes, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Montembeault snapped a six-game losing streak with a 27-save performance in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Colorado. The 27-year-old netminder is 14-13-7 with a .905 save percentage and 3.06 GAA this season. Montembeault will have a tough task Saturday against a Carolina team that's won seven of their last nine games.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Sharp in Colorado
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Montembeault stopped 27 of 28 shots in a 2-1 win over the Avalanche on Tuesday.
After Nathan MacKinnon scored 43 seconds into the opening period, Montembeault rebounded to blank Colorado over the remaining 59 minutes Tuesday, as the 27-year-old netminder snapped his losing streak at six. Montembeault improves to 14-13-7 with a .905 save percentage and a 3.06 GAA this season. Cayden Primeau figures to get the start Thursday versus Philadelphia, lining up Montembeault for a home matchup with the Hurricanes on Saturday.
