Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Solid season earns Team Canada call
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Montembeault made 16 saves in a 5-4 loss to the Bruins on Thursday.
Montembeault put up a brave season behind a pesky, but flawed Canadiens squad. It was the 28th time he had faced at least 30 shots (39 games played), and he was often the team's best player. With his strong season, Montembeault has earned a role with Team Canada at the upcoming World Championships.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Little chance on Long Island
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Montembeault stopped 31 of 35 shots in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Islanders.
The Islanders were playing for a playoff spot and took care of business against the lottery-bound Canadiens despite Montembeault's best efforts to keep the game competitive. Montreal was out-shot 35-19, and Montembeault will likely have the ice tilted against him again when the Canadiens complete their back-to-back set Thursday against the Bruins. Heading into Montreal's season finale, Montembeault has gone 16-18-3, but he has established himself as a borderline starter moving forward by stealing numerous wins for the rebuilding Canadiens.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Taking both ends of back-to-back
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Montembeault will get the starting nod for both Wednesday's clash with the Islanders as well as Thursday's matchup with Boston.
Montembeault will take both games of the Habs' season-ending back-to-back with Jake Allen (lower body) still on the shelf. In his 38 games this season, the 26-year-old Montembeault has posted a 16-17-3 record, 3.36 GAA and .904 save percentage. Both backstops are under contract for the 2023-24 campaign and could be in a season-long battle for starts.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting Wednesday
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Montembeault will guard the road goal Wednesday against the Islanders, Andree-Anne Barbeau of RDS reports.
Montembeault surrendered seven goals on 46 shots in last Saturday's 7-1 loss to Toronto. He has a 16-17-3 record this season with a 3.36 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 38 appearances. Montembeault has gone 1-1-0 versus the Islanders this year, having stopped 63 of 68 shots.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Left alone against mighty Leafs
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Montembeault made 39 saves in a 7-1 loss to Toronto on Saturday.
Toronto outshot Montreal 18-1 in the first period, and Montembeault kept his team in a game they probably didn't deserve to play -- they were disappointing, to say the least. Montembeault entered the game 3-2-0 with 13 goals scored in his last five. He's been doing his part. Now his mates need to do theirs.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting in Toronto
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Montembeault will start on the road Saturday against the Maple Leafs, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.
Montembeault has played well of late, going 3-2-0 with a .919 save percentage in his last five starts. He's 16-16-3 with a .906 save percentage on the season. The 26-year-old Montembeault will face a Leafs team averaging 3.4 goals per game.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Sharp in last five games
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Montembeault made 24 saves in a 6-2 win over Washington on Thursday.
Dylan Strome beat him early in the first and Nicklas Backstrom delivered a power-play marker late in the third. Montembeault has been sharp in his last five, going 3-2-0. He has allowed just two goals in each of the wins (seven total in the losses).
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Facing Washington
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Montembeault will patrol the home crease during Thursday's matchup with the Capitals.
Montembeault was excellent in his last start Saturday versus the Hurricanes, stopping a whopping 47 of 50 shots, but he still came away with a loss due to a complete lack of goal support from his teammates. He'll try to snap his personal two-game losing streak in a home matchup with a struggling Washington team that's gone 2-6-2 over its last 10 games.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Ice tilted in loss
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Montembeault made 47 saves in a 3-0 loss to Carolina on Saturday.
The ice was tilted directly at Montembeault -- Antti Raanta only saw 14 shots at the other end of the ice. The poor guy probably lost 10 pounds of sweat on the night. Montembeault has been a ray of light in a dark season in Montreal and is 3-1-0 in his last four starts.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Facing Hurricanes
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Montembeault will be between the home pipes versus Carolina on Saturday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Montembeault gave up four goals in a 5-2 loss versus Florida on Thursday. He is 15-15-3 with a 3.30 GAA and .904 save percentage this season. Montembeault will face the Hurricanes, who are first in the Metropolitan Division with 103 points.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Falls to Panthers
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Montembeault allowed four goals on 29 shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Panthers.
Montembeault stopped 25 of 29 shots, allowing two goals apiece to Matthew Tkachuk and Anton Lundell in the 5-2 defeat. The 26-year-old Montembeault had been playing well coming into Thursday's start, winning his last two games while allowing four goals on 56 shots in that span. The Quebec native falls to 15-15-3 with a .904 save percentage this season.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Facing Florida
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Montembeault will guard the home goal versus the Panthers on Thursday, Patrick Friolet of RDS reports.
Montembeault was pretty solid in his last start Saturday against Columbus, stopping 21 of 23 shots en route to a convincing 8-2 victory. He'll try to extend his personal winning streak to three games in a home matchup with a Florida team that's 16-19-3 on the road this year.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Solid in victory
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Montembeault stopped 21 of 23 shots, helping the Canadiens to an 8-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday.
Montembeault was solid for the Canadiens, allowing two goals in the first period, but shutting the door on the Blue Jackets after. This start marks back-to-back wins for the Canadian goaltender and his third win in his last five games. Montembeault should continue to split the net with Jake Allen moving forward.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Facing Blue Jackets
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Montembeault will get the home start versus Columbus on Saturday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Montembeault picked up the win over Tampa Bay in his last start, making 31 saves in a 3-2 victory Tuesday. He's 14-14-3 with a 3.32 GAA and .905 save percentage. Montembeault faces the lowly Blue Jackets, who are tied for last in the NHL standings with 53 points.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Sharp in Tuesday's win
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Montembeault stopped 31 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Lightning.
The Canadiens were out-shot 33-20 on the night, but Montembeault was able to steal a win with some big saves. The 26-year-old has seen action in five straight games as Jake Allen continues to struggle, and while his .905 save percentage over that stretch isn't exceptional, it's good enough to earn him consistent work over the final weeks of the season.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Between pipes against Bolts
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Montembeault will tend the twine for Tuesday's home tilt with Tampa Bay, Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic reports.
Montembeault has just one win in his last seven outings, posting a 1-3-1 record, 3.83 GAA and .887 save percentage over that stretch. While the 26-year-old netminder and fellow backstop Jake Allen are both under contract heading into next season and will no doubt be eager to put together some strong performances to close out the 2022-23 campaign in hopes of impressing team brass before next year.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Too many goals allowed again
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Montembeault made 36 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Lightning on Saturday. He allowed four goals.
His teammates played well through two periods, but they just couldn't hold back Steven Stamkos and Brandon Hagel in the third. Montembeault is 1-3-1 in his last six starts (22 goals allowed), and like a lot of Habs, he should be avoided in fantasy. Too much risk.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting Saturday
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Montembeault will be in the road crease versus Tampa Bay on Saturday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Montembeault is 13-13-3 with a 3.34 GAA and .904 save percentage this season. The 26-year-old picked up the start in Florida on Thursday and gave up three early goals before he was pulled. Jake Allen subsequently gave up six goals in just over a period of action, forcing the Canadiens to put Montembeault back in net, where he shut down the Panthers the rest of the way in a 9-5 loss. Montembeault will face the Lightning, who are seventh in NHL scoring, averaging 3.47 goals per game.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Dodges loss against Florida
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Montembeault stopped 21 of 24 shots in a little less than two periods worth of action in Thursday's 9-5 loss to the Panthers.
The 26-year-old netminder got the start but lasted only about six minutes before getting the hook after surrendering three quick goals. Jake Allen then took over and coughed up six tallies in 21:29 of ice time, including Sam Reinhart's eventual game-winner, before Habs coach Martin St. Louis was forced to turn back to Montembeault. Montreal has surrendered 21 goals over its last three games, with both goalies seeing action in two of them, and neither one will be an appealing fantasy option until the team's defense tightens up. Through five appearances in March, Montembeault is 1-1-1 with a 3.50 GAA and .901 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Will start vs. Florida
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Montembeault is expected to guard the road crease against Florida on Thursday.
Montembeault has a 13-13-3 record, 3.31 GAA and .905 save percentage in 30 contests this season. He's struggled lately, posting a 3.67 GAA and an .886 save percentage over his last five outings. The Panthers are tied for the eighth-ranked offense with 3.39 goals per game in 2022-23.
