Montembeault shows why he deserves more starts, steals win for Canadiens

ANAHEIM, Calif. — It was a skittish performance from the Montreal Canadiens, a game that had coach Martin St. Louis once again mentioning the team’s fragile psyche coming off a four-game losing streak.

They were good for the first 15 minutes of the first period against the Anaheim Ducks, bad for the next five, on their heels for most of the second, and they were hanging on for dear life for portions of the third before getting a goal that delivered their first regulation win in a month.

“It wasn’t our prettiest,” said Jake Evans.

St. Louis agreed, saying, “They can’t all be Picassos.”

The Canadiens gave up several odd-man rushes, their defencemen crashed into each other on multiple occasions, they missed open nets and offered open looks to the Ducks, and St. Louis said it was a tough one to watch from the bench.

But the coach — and his players — would’ve taken the 4-3 result they got any which way.

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“We needed a win tonight,” St. Louis said.

It’s why he kept two of his forwards on the bench through the final 20 minutes, and it’s why he put first-time NHLer Jayden Struble on the ice for just three shifts in the frame despite the 22-year-old’s steady debut.

“It’s a game we could’ve lost,” said St. Louis.

It’s a game the Canadiens would’ve lost if not for Samuel Montembeault, and St. Louis knew it.

“We’ll watch the video, I know we’ll have a lot of things to correct,” he said.

The goaltender won’t be one of them.

Montembeault made 30 saves — a diving stick stop on Alex Killorn in the first period, a diving glove snag on Frank Vatrano with 13:22 to go in the third and one last big one on Tristan Luneau that precipitated Alex Newhook’s game-winner while the teams were skating at four-on-four are the ones that will dominate the highlights. He continued to show that, on a team carrying three goaltenders, he should be No. 1.

Montembeault robbed the Ducks of sure goals in this game, adding to what he’s done since the start of the season. He came into it ranked 13^th among goaltenders in goals saved above expected amongst goaltenders who had started at least as many games as he had, and he vaulted up a couple of spots in the category after it was over. The Becancour, Que., native is once again showing his ability to stabilize a fragile team and that is a reason he should be relied on more.

This was the Canadiens’ 19^th game of the season, but just Montembeault’s ninth start. And with the team up and down from shift to shift, let alone from period to period, he calmed the waters in it.

The Canadiens needed Montembeault to do exactly that after their forecheck — which they worked on extensively over the past three days — netted them the game’s first two goals in a span of 38 seconds but broke down several times thereafter. 

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The Canadiens are going to continue to need Montembeault to stabilize them as they continue to work on their deficiencies.

That’s something St. Louis and his staff has to be resolved about, even if it disrupts the process of trying to also keep Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau as fresh.

“We take everything into consideration and try to make the best decisions,” said St. Louis, “and obviously his play steers us in a way in that direction.”

It’s been on a high level since the start of last season, with Montembeault ranking 13^th in the NHL in goals saved above expected at that time as well. He then went to the world championship of hockey and won a gold medal as Canada’s best player in the tournament. And after a bit of a slip in training camp, Montembeault has regained his footing in Montreal’s crease.

“He’s saved my bacon a couple of times on two-on-ones this year, and he’s unreal,” said Kaiden Guhle, who scored the Canadiens’ second goal against the Ducks. “He’s only going to get better. He’s been huge.”

Guhle rightly said all the Canadiens goaltenders have given them a chance to win this season.

But Montembeault has provided a calming presence when one has been needed, and the Canadiens need one moving forward.

Management has to consider that as it attempts to hammer out a new contract with the goaltender between now and July 1 — before Montembeault is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

But if they have any pause right now about signing him to a lucrative, long-term contract based on a sample of only 87 games in three seasons with the Canadiens, the simple solution is to play him more and see if he keeps proving himself. 

Montembeault earned their team a much-needed win in Anaheim, and he’s earned a chance to play more.

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