The way things have been going this season for the Montreal Canadiens, Saturday’s game (Dec. 21) at home vs. the Detroit Red Wings was either going to bear witness to Christmas cheers or jeers. Thankfully, Montreal handled its business en route to a comfortable 5-1 victory, thus claiming all the spoils from the home-and-home series against their Original Six foe after winning 4-3 the night before. Here are the takeaways.
Montembeault the Workhorse
Incidentally, in our preview for this two-game series published on Friday (Dec. 20), we opined that giving Cayden Primeau the nod for one of these two contests was a good idea. The 25-year-old needs a confidence booster after some miserable performances this season and the Red Wings, 27th in the scoring league-wide (2.64 goals per match), were just what the doctor ordered.
Except that’s not what head coach Martin St. Louis ordered, nor can he be blamed for going against modern NHL conventional wisdom, which states that different netminders start games on back-to-backs. That’s not always the case, and it wasn’t on Saturday. Truthfully, it’s hard to blame St. Louis for sticking with Samuel Montembeault. For one, despite some of the Quebecois’ sloppy starts in 2024-25, there have been more than enough games where he kept the club within striking distance of their opponent. There is also the matter of him being an official member of Team Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster – whatever one thinks of the supposed politics involved – so there are evidently people out there who think he’s pretty decent.
Lastly, Montreal needs to do anything to build consistency. Even if it doesn’t always mean winning games (although they are enjoying a nice three-game run). If good habits materialize from using Montembeault like a workhorse for now, so be it. In any event, the team and the league will enjoy a break for a few days starting on the 24th, so they might as well ride the positive vibes.
He didn’t make a crouched-back save like on Friday; he was “regular great.” Some nice glove stops, a good presence in the crease, and he never looked tired. Montembeault was, as it turns out, exactly what the doctor ordered. This strategy won’t always work and fatigue can incur injury, but under these specific circumstances, St. Louis’ judgement was apt and his number one goalie rewarded him with handsome…
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