Dobes comes through for Canadiens in Game 7 win

TAMPA -- Jakub Dobes was justifiably named the first star of the Montreal Canadiens’ 2-1 win in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.

His reward?

A surprise shower of shaving cream, courtesy of fellow Canadiens goalies Jacob Fowler and Sam Montembeault, that had the rookie laughing while wiping off gobs of the white gooey substance.

“About the shaving cream, we have a great group of guys, a great group of goalies,” the 24-year-old said afterward. “So I love those guys. They’re awesome.

“But I can’t wait for next practice. I’ll have something prepared for them.”

Truth be told, the reason the Canadiens will have another practice, let alone more games, is largely due in part to Dobes, both in Game 7 and, for that matter, the entire series.

Montreal could have easily been run out of Benchmark International Arena if not for the lanky 6-foot-4 goalie, who kept his team in the game during a span in which his Canadiens teammates went 26:55 without registering a shot on goal.

Instead, they’ll face the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Second Round. 

“Dobes is one of the hockey gods,” summed up Canadiens forward Phillip Danault.

Having only won the starters job in January, he shone against the Lightning, posting a 2.03 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in the seven-game series. Compare that to Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, the future Hall of Famer who had a 2.18 GAA and .897 save percentage.

And when it mattered most, in his team’s do-or-die situation on Sunday, he came up huge when his team needed him most, finishing with 28 saves.

“Many times during the season the guys bail me out and help me out,” Dobes said. “And I try to do the same. Sometimes they don’t play good, sometimes I don’t play good. They’ve always got my back and I’ve always got theirs. That’s our mentality.”

His mentality has certainly changed towards the positive side during the course of the season.

Back on Nov. 6, he’d beaten himself up for allowing the winning goal in a game against the New Jersey Devils. He wondered where he stood in the big picture when it came to the Canadiens goaltending future.

Thanks to a resurgent past few months, his future is now.

Just ask Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, who was one of the heroes for Montreal on this night when he opened the scoring in the first period, his first even-strength goal of the series.

“I think he’s grown a lot as a goalie,” Suzuki said. “He’s super confident in himself, which you love to see. He puts in the work every single day and away from the rink, preparing for games with the proper mindset, which is pretty cool.

“He’s a gamer. He’s been doing that since he got on our team, and we’re going to need him to continue doing that as we go along here.”

For his part, Dobes still is attempting to accept the reality of the ride he’s on, including outplaying Vasilevskiy.

“I mean, I’m still trying to process everything that’s happening,” he said. “Inside I’m really happy. But I think it’s going to kick in later. 

“I’ve dreamed big. I guess I’ve always been a dreamer about one of these moments. And this is obviously one of the coolest games and situations I’ve ever been in so I’m really, really happy.

“But we have a really tough opponent in Buffalo. So we have to reset and prepare for a good team.”

According to Suzuki, Dobes is poised to do exactly that.