The Montreal Canadiens are banged up heading into a potential elimination game against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.
After dropping Game 4 on home ice to the Capitals, the Canadiens will try to stave off an early offseason without a few key members of their lineup, chief among them being starting goaltender Sam Montembeault. Per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, the 28-year-old netminder did not travel with the team to DC after suffering a lower-body injury during Game 3 in Montreal.
Without Montembeault, who appeared in 62 games for the Habs during the regular season, the club will again turn to rookie goalie Jakub Dobeš. The 23-year-old Czech took the loss in Game 4, allowing three goals on 24 shots faced. Per MoneyPuck, he’s allowed 1.4 more goals than expected in his first two playoff appearances.
Dobeš created headlines when he was highly critical of the officiating in the team’s last loss to the Caps, referencing multiple plays he thought should have had different outcomes.
“I don’t want to point fingers,” Dobeš said. “I never, ever do that. As a hockey player, I’ve never ever done it. I don’t want to be specific about who could be better. I just hope we don’t get these referees in Washington, that’s it. I’m not going to point fingers.”
Rosen adds that the Canadiens will also be without veteran winger Patrik Laine for a third straight game due to an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old Finn has not played since Game 2, where he sat out the entire third period of a 3-1 loss.
Head coach Martin St. Louis also listed defenseman Alexandre Carrier as a game-time decision after he was pummeled by a huge Tom Wilson hit last Sunday night. Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, and David Savard all took maintenance days on Tuesday, but are expected to play on Wednesday night.
The Canadiens will need to win three games in a row against the Capitals to avoid elimination, just as they did in 2021 against the Toronto Maple Leafs before their improbable Stanley Cup Final appearance. Puck drop for Game 5 is set for 7:00 pm.
