Canadiens’ season lies on rookie goalie’s shoulders amid Sam Montembeault injury

The Montreal Canadiens face the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night, hoping to stave off elimination. Despite taking a lead into the second intermission in Game 4, they collapsed at home. Now, they are hitting the road with their playoff lives on the line. Canadiens coach Martin St Louis announced Wednesday that Jakub Dobes will be back in the net as Sam Montembeault recovers from his injury. The Athletic’s Arpon Basu and Sean Gentile have more.

“Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said starting goaltender Sam Montembeault, who left the game in the second period of Game 3 and did not play Game 4, did not make the trip to Washington,” they reported.

St Louis confirmed that Alexandre Carrier did make the trip to Washington with the Canadiens. He took a big hit from Tom Wilson late in Game 4 and did not return. The coach said that they had “a few” game-time decisions, which could include Carrier. Brandon Gallagher, Josh Anderson, and David Savard all missed practice on Tuesday.

The final injury update from the Canadiens is that Patrik Laine is not going to play in the elimination game. He has not played since Game 2 with an undisclosed injury. His addition to the lineup has been key to the Canadiens’ rise this year. Without him, offense will be hard to come by.

Dobes has made his presence known in this series despite only playing a game and a half. The Canadiens’ rookie called out the officials after Game 4 for Wilson’s hit on Carrier and Alex Ovechkin’s collision with Jake Evans. The latter hit did lead to a power play that the Habs scored on, but Wilson’s was not penalized.

The Canadiens need to win this game without one of their best scorers and their starting goalie. If they can get them back for a return to Quebec, hockey’s cathedral will be rocking.