Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Steady in first win of season
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Montembeault turned aside 20 shots in Saturday's 3-2 win over Chicago.
The 28-year-old netminder was beaten twice in less than five minutes during a wild second period that featured four of the game's five goals before the 10-minute mark, but Montembeault otherwise had an answer for everything Chicago fired his way. It was his first win of the season after a tough loss in Toronto on Wednesday, and Montembeault has given up five goals on 47 shots so far as Montreal's No. 1 in the crease.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting in Chicago
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Montembeault will be between the pipes for Saturday's road matchup against the Blackhawks, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.
Before the Maple Leafs added two empty-netters, Montembeault permitted three goals on 25 shots in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to Toronto. During the 2024-25 regular season, the 28-year-old netminder posted a record of 0-1-1 versus Chicago while allowing seven goals on 51 shots.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Tending twine Wednesday
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Montembeault will guard the cage on the road against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports.
Montembeault set new personal bests in games played (62), wins (31) and shutouts (four) last season, cementing himself as the No. 1 option in Montreal. With the Habs kicking off the 2025-26 campaign with a back-to-back, Jakub Dobes is scheduled to be between the pipes on the road versus the Red Wings on Thursday.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting against Sens
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Montembeault will patrol the crease at home in Saturday's preseason finale versus Ottawa, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Montembeault will get the last tune-up before Opening Night against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, a game that the 28-year-old netminder also figures to get the starting nod. After appearing in 62 regular-season tilts last year, the Quebec native should see a similar workload in 2025-26 and will no doubt be hoping to once again eclipse the 30-win threshold.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting Thursday
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Montembeault will defend the home crease in preseason action Thursday versus Toronto, Stu Cowan of The Montreal Gazette reports.
Montembeault drew the start in Monday's preseason opener against the Penguins, and he'll defend the crease again Thursday. Montembeault is slated to return as the Canadiens' No. 1 goaltender this season after posting a 31-24-7 record with a 2.82 GAA and a .901 save percentage across 62 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Facing Pens in preseason
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Montembeault will be between the pipes at home versus the Penguins in Monday's preseason game, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reports.
Montembeault heads into the 2025-26 campaign once again as the clear No. 1 for the Canadiens, even as the backup situation remains a little murky. In his 62 regular-season appearances last year, the 28-year-old backstop set new personal bests in wins (31), shutouts (four) and GAA (2.82). Looking ahead, Montembeault should once again feature in 60-plus contests, which will give him strong fantasy upside.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Skates in Thursday's practice
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Montembeault (groin) practiced in Group A in Thursday's on-ice session to open the Canadiens' training camp.
Montembeault sustained a groin tear in April that cost him the last two games of the Canadiens' playoff run. The 28-year-old netminder was with the group that didn't scrimmage Thursday, but he should get a look in a game-like situation Friday. Montembeault is projected to be Montreal's No. 1 goalie in 2025-26 and should see ample playing time after making 62 regular-season appearances last year.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Unavailable for Game 5
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Montembeault (lower body) won't be available for Wednesday's Game 5 on the road against Washington, Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports.
Montembeault sustained a lower-body injury in Game 3, and he'll be unavailable for a second consecutive matchup Wednesday. Jakub Dobes has been named Montreal's starter for Wednesday's game, while Montembeault isn't with the team in Washington, so Cayden Primeau will dress as the No. 2 netminder.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Still being evaluated
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Montembeault (lower body) is still being evaluated ahead of Game 4 against Washington on Sunday, Dan Rosen of NHL.com reports.
After leaving Friday's 6-3 win over the Capitals in the second period, Montembeault's availability for Sunday's home matchup in Game 4 is unclear. Jakub Dobes won Game 3 in relief, stopping seven of eight shots, and could get his first NHL playoff start if Montembeault is unavailable for Sunday's game. Montreal could recall Cayden Primeau from AHL Laval before Game 4 as insurance.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Won't return to Game 3
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Montembeault (lower body) won't return to Friday's Game 3 versus the Capitals.
The Canadiens did not officially provide a reason for Montembeault's absence, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Montembeault looked bothered by a left leg issue prior to his exit. Jakub Dobes took over in goal, and Montembeault won't factor in the result after leaving when the game was tied at 2-2. He allowed two goals on 13 shots prior to the injury. He should be considered day-to-day ahead of Sunday's Game 4.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting Game 3
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Montembeault will start at home in Friday's Game 3 versus the Capitals, Arpon Basu of The Athletic reports.
Montembeault has lost the first two games of the series, but he hasn't played poorly. He's allowed five goals on 63 shots, good for a .921 save percentage, but the Capitals have been just a bit better. The Canadiens are committed to Montembeault as their starter this postseason, so don't expect Jakub Dobes to see much action.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Falls to Caps in OT
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Montembeault made 29 saves in Monday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Washington took a 2-0 lead midway through the second period, but Montembeault stood tall in the third as Montreal rallied to tie it up -- only for Alex Ovechkin to tap home the winner in OT. After a regular season in which Montembeault nearly doubled his career-best win total to 31 and recorded four of his five career shutouts, the 28-year-old netminder will need to come up big if the Habs are going to even the series Wednesday.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Set for playoff debut
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Montembeault will guard the road goal in Game 1 versus Washington on Monday, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com.
Montembeault will make his first NHL playoff start after posting a 31-24-7 record with four shutouts, a 2.82 GAA and a .901 save percentage across 62 regular-season appearances in 2024-25. He allowed four goals on 35 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Capitals on Dec. 7. Washington finished second in the league with 3.49 goals per game in the 2024-25 regular season.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Locks up playoff spot with win
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Montembeault made 27 saves in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
Facing a Carolina team that was resting a number of key skaters, Montembeault was more than up to the task of clinching a playoff spot for Montreal in its final regular-season game. The 28-year-old will head into a first-round playoff matchup against the Capitals with plenty of momentum -- over his last eight starts, Montembeault has gone 6-1-1 with a 2.11 GAA and .922 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Fails to clinch playoff spot Monday
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Montembeault turned aside 22 shots in regulation and overtime and one of two shootout attempts in Monday's 4-3 loss to Chicago.
The Habs grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period and seemed well on their way to clinching the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but the game slipped away from Montreal. Montembeault has just one regulation loss in his last seven starts, going 5-1-1 with a 2.12 GAA and a .921 save percentage. One more point in the standings in the Canadiens' regular-season finale Wednesday against the Hurricanes -- or a loss by the Blue Jackets in either of their final two games -- is all Montreal needs to secure a playoff berth.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Excellent in win vs. Detroit
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Montembeault stopped 35 of 36 shots in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Red Wings.
Montembeault was impressive between the pipes and delivered one of his best performances of the campaign en route to earning a fifth straight win. He's given up two or fewer goals in each of those wins, stopping 124 of 132 shots while notching a 1.60 GAA and a .939 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting Saturday
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Montembeault will defend the home crease versus Philadelphia on Saturday, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.
Montembeault has won three straight games, allowing five goals on 72 shots (.931 save percentage) in a pair of victories over Florida and one against Boston. He is 28-23-6 with a 2.86 GAA and an .899 save percentage across 57 appearances this season. Philadelphia has generated 2.79 goals per game, 24th in the league in 2024-25.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Earns third consecutive win
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Montembeault made 18 saves in a 4-1 win over Boston on Thursday.
Montembeault has been one of the top contributors for the Canadiens this season. He ranks ninth in the NHL with 28 wins, and his 22.93 GSAx (goals saved above expected) is elite -- he's also ninth in the NHL in that category. Montembeault has won three straight games, and most importantly, he has Montreal in a playoff spot. The team is two points ahead of the Rangers for the second wild-card spot.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Rewarded with win Tuesday
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Montembeault stopped 25 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime win over the Panthers.
The netminder played well -- both pucks that got past him deflected off the sticks of Montreal defenders -- but Montembeault was staring at a 2-1 deficit heading into the third period, only for Nick Suzuki to play hero with a goal late in regulation and then another early in OT. Montembeault stumbled a bit late in March but seems to be rallying with the playoffs approaching, allowing seven goals on 76 shots (.908 save percentage) over his last three starts.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Tending twine Tuesday
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Montembeault will defend the cage at home versus the Panthers on Tuesday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Montembeault has appeared in seven of the Habs' last eight contests in which he is sporting a 3-2-2 record and a 3.16 GAA. The 28-year-old netminder has already set new personal bests in games played (55), wins (26) and shutouts (four). While Jakub Dobes has been decent this season -- a 6-4-2 record and an .897 save percentage -- it should be mostly Montembeault the rest of the way while Montreal clings to a playoff spot.
