Jakub Dobeš returns to the net with confidence
After a two-game stretch where the Montreal Canadiens went 1-0-1 with rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler between the pipes, they went back to one of their regulars on Sunday night. Taking on Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers at home, Jakub Dobeš got his first start since being pulled during their blowout loss to Tampa Bay last Tuesday. The hope was that perhaps a bit of time off would give him a chance to reset and find his form from earlier in the season.
He did precisely that, looking about as calm and confident as he has this season, stopping 27 shots as a difference maker in a Habs win.
Jakub Dobes with some excellent work to kill those penalties. pic.twitter.com/MG3KzULXxS
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) December 15, 2025
Some credit is certainly due to the penalty killers for their work on that long five-on-three, but Dobeš was very important during that and a handful of other kills. Special teams were the difference in this game, but against a team as offensively charged as the Oilers, you need your goaltender to be one of your very best penalty killers, and he was.
For a goaltender who generally has a flair for the chaotic in net, this was interestingly one of the more reserved performances we’ve ever seen from him. He was aggressive when he needed to be, but didn’t have to scramble in his crease nearly as often as he has in previous contests. High-danger scoring chances at five-on-five were dead even at seven apiece, and yet only the Habs found any scoring on those chances. His penalty killing was important, but this game could have been a lot closer if he wasn’t so efficient for the full 60 minutes.
After the game, he was named the first star of the night, and if his reaction to the ovation he received from the fans is any indication, it was something he sorely needed to hear.
Boy did he ever need to hear that ovation from the fans. pic.twitter.com/XyN6YPb6j8
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) December 15, 2025
Confidence, or lack thereof, has been the theme around the team’s goaltending this year. This is the kind of performance he can build on, and hopefully get himself back to the level he was at early in the season. He didn’t quite have to steal that game, but he absolutely earned that first star nod and the ovation that came with it.
If this is a sign that Jakub Dobeš is getting back on track, it could be a huge boost for the Montreal Canadiens.
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