The Montreal Canadiens are having a week for the history books. The Canadiens just swept their home-and-away series with the Carolina Hurricanes and have now won five straight games. This run has put them in a great spot to clinch a playoff berth in the Atlantic Division.
Here is the latest news and rumours surrounding the Canadiens.
Jakub Dobes is the NHL’s First Star
The biggest story in Montreal right now is the play of rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes. The NHL just named him the First Star of the Week, and it is well deserved. Dobes went 3-0 last week with a massive .962 save percentage.
He has officially passed legends like Patrick Roy and Carey Price for the most wins by a rookie goaltender in Canadiens history. Watching a young goalie take over the crease like this is exactly what fans have been waiting for. With Sam Montembeault currently scratched, the net belongs to Dobes as the team pushes toward the postseason.
Suzuki & Caufield Chasing Milestones
It has been decades since the Canadiens had a true superstar offensive season, but that could change in the next couple of weeks. Nick Suzuki picked up three points in the win over Carolina and now sits at 91 points on the year. He has nine games left to get nine more points and become the first Canadien to hit the 100-point mark since Mats Naslund in 1986.
Related: Canadiens’ Fowler Makes Strong Case to Start in Playoffs over Dobes
Meanwhile, Cole Caufield is sitting on 46 goals. He is looking to become the first Canadien to score 50 goals in a season since Stephane Richer in 1990. The fact that the top line, reunited with Juraj Slafkovsky, has combined for 25 goals in their last 13 games tells you everything you need to know about how dangerous this team is right now.
Arber Xhekaj Plays Forward
On the blue line, Arber Xhekaj’s future is also a topic of conversation. He was recently used as a forward because of injuries to Kirby Dach. While he was effective on the forecheck, there are rumours that GM Kent Hughes could look to move him or Jayden Struble this summer to make room for younger defencemen like David Reinbacher and the recently recalled Adam Engstrom.
However, at this point, Xhekaj is slotting in as a forward over Patrik Laine. Which truly shows just how far he has fallen out of favour in Montreal. It doesn’t appear to be a forever fit, but if they needed another player to play in the bottom six in the new playoffs salary cap model, who doesn’t make a ton. He could be an option to fill a role and play five-seven minutes per night and throw his weight around, while making life tough on their first round opponent’s blue line.Â
