Today the Montreal Canadiens have a problem they haven't faced in a very long time. They have a starting goalie the team can't trust. Sam Montembeault seems like a solid, likeable teammate. He's worked hard to make it as a guy for whom the NHL wasn't a given. Based on the play that won him a contract extension, he's been handed a very long leash by Martin St.Louis. Now though, he's taken up all the slack.
Five times this season, Montembeault has given up a goal on the first shot of the game. That's nearly a quarter of all his starts this year. Sure, he's made some big saves but they lose any momentum they create when he gives up a stinker from the blue line right after. He gives up goals in the last minute of close games, and he gives up shorthanded goals. He blows leads regularly. His numbers are AHL-worthy.
Montembeault hasn't just been bad this year, he's been poetically bad. He's been limerick bad:
There once was a goalie named Monty
Whose play in the net wasn't jaunty.
When blowing a lead
At breathtaking speed
He saves fewer shots than my Aunty.
He's been haiku bad:
The team on the bench
With disappointment watches
The red light go on.
He's been sonnet bad:
In the glory days of Patrick and Ken
The puck-stopping highlights and Hall of Fame.
Their banners among the finest of men.
Who wrote their own stories of the great game.
The long line of luminous stars stood tall
The team never worried about the net
Guarding the cage an impenetrable wall.
So cool under fire, never see them sweat
Spring was the season for planning parades
In the good old days, the usual route
But even the greatest dynasty fades
And the once ravenous throng becomes mute
When the expected chain is broken down
And disappointment shrouds the hopeful town.
He's been ode bad:
There was a time when goal was not in doubt.
They passed the torch from hand to hand
Never a drought
Always rising to meet demand
Standing tall whether squeaker or a rout
It is not now as it has been of yore
Security is gone
Limits are drawn
The things which we have seen we can see no more.
There are some flashes sure
But not a goalie's cure
No guiding hand remains
To hold the vessel steady on her course,
Save what a mate attains
Defend against the force
All hope and glory his to earn
From mediocrity and fear divorce.
And of course, he's been epic bad, but we're not writing a book here. He might be good in the room, but as Scotty once said, "If he's good in the room, leave him there." It's time for St.Louis to take his predecessor's advice.
Montembeault is costing the Canadiens points. More concerning, he's costing them confidence. If a team is always thinking about helping out the goalie, the players aren't thinking enough about their own jobs.
There's no doubt the Habs' team defence is an issue as well, but it starts with the goalie. When you have a fragile goaltender, you have a fragile team. And when you're holding on to a wild card spot in an extremely tight division you can't afford fragility. Monty has had lots of chances to find his game this year, but hasn't been able to do so with consistency. It would be a crying shame if this good young team is kneecapped by lousy goaltending.
It's time to give the keys to Jakub Dobes and ride him the rest of the way. There's no rhyme or reason for anything else.
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