Jakub Dobes was back in net on Tuesday as the Montreal Canadiens hosted the San Jose Sharks. The Habs, who had a 4-3-1 record going in, were hoping to finally be able to get a regulation win and climb up the standings. Only one of the Sainte-Flanelle’s wins since the start of the year had come in regulation, and even Martin St-Louis acknowledged after the last game that his team needed to put games away when they had a lead.
Montreal started strong and kept the Sharks from even exiting their zone early in the first frame. Still, they couldn’t manage to maintain that dominance for very long and ultimately, an all-too-familiar scenario would play out at the Bell Centre.
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Adjustments Needed
While St-Louis adjusted his power play by bringing Zachary Bolduc on the first wave in the last game, the strategy hasn’t changed. The players are standing their ground and passing the puck around, but their lack of mobility makes the penalty killers’ job easy. Keeping an active stick when you don’t need to move isn't that challenging.
Furthermore, they lack creativity, and the passing has become predictable. Granted, the unit misses Ivan Demiodov, but waiting for his return won’t cut it, especially since he is still wearing a walking boot. The forward was spotted chatting to Andrei Markov just outside the Canadiens’ room after the game. The two times the Canadiens had a man advantage in the first frame, it actually killed their momentum rather than building it.
First Line Takeover
While the power play didn’t generate much, the Canadiens’ first line was dominant at even strength. Juraj Slafkovsky put up multiple points for the second game in a row, and his individual effort gave the Habs a 2-1 lead less than two minutes into the second frame. From then on, San Jose looked like a team playing a second game in as many nights, which they were, but that goal was a gut punch.
Caufield doubled the Canadiens’ lead thanks to a heads-up play by Lane Hutson, which gave his teammates a four-on-two. They couldn’t convert on the initial chance, but Nick Suzuki deflected the puck on net, then picked up his own rebound and fed the sniper from behind the net, giving Nedeljkovic no chance to stop it. On that play, Slafkovsky was in the box after he and Kaiden Guhle got involved in some extracurricular activity by the Sharks’ bench.
It Should Be Over (Again)
The Habs seemed in full control at the start of the third frame, and for a while they pressed on, but then they gave the game away. It all started when Hutson was dispossessed in the offensive zone, which led to an odd-man rush that San Jose capitalized on.
Less than five minutes later, Arber Xhekaj and Michael Kesselring tussled, both hanging on to each other. Still, the Habs player was the only one to drop the gloves, then punch Kesselring in the stomach after the linesman stepped in, earning an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Without that, the Sharks wouldn’t have had a power play on which Tyler Toffoli tied the game.
Jakub Dobes gets called for interference in OT... the Sharks head to the power-play. pic.twitter.com/f9F5TkbUv6
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 21, 2026
Fast forward to overtime, and Dobes takes a bad penalty: interference, as his team regained possession in the defensive zone. Three unanswered goals by a team that looked like it had a knee down on the mat in the second frame. Alexandre Carrier said it best:
We knew they’re a team that can come back from behind if you give them opportunities, and we knew we had to play the right way, but once again we made mistakes that cost us dearly, and when you give them life, they pick up momentum, and that’s dangerous. They have the skills to do it.- Carrier on the defeat
From the outside, it almost looks like the Canadiens panic when they feel the game slipping away from them, but Carrier didn’t agree:
No, it’s not panic; it’s more frustration because it’s happened many times already. We know we have to fix this, and yet we did it again tonight.
Speaking to the press after the game, the coach looked like he was trying hard not to name names:
We’re leaving points on the table, and it’s our fault. You have to understand the game's score. We have 80 attempted shots against 40, maybe 50…We’re finding ways to leave points on the table, and it’s our fault. […] We were dominant at the start of the third, but there were actions that helped them. You have to cut down on the actions that help the other team. That’s all they want.- St-Louis on the defeat
It was initially thought Dobes would be available to the press after the game, but it was ultimately decided he wouldn’t come out. That’s hardly surprising, given how the game ended. The Czech netminder wears his heart on his sleeve, and this defeat after a strong game will be hard to swallow. The coach himself hadn’t spoken to him, and he wasn’t sure whether he'd do so before the next game, or leave it in the capable hands of Marco Marciano.
Even if that kind of penalty is not always called, St-Louis has been saying over and over that players cannot give the referee the opportunity to make a call, and that’s exactly what Dobes did in overtime. He enjoys competing and being aggressive in net, but it cost him and, by the same token, the team.
Turnovers and bad penalties never win you games, no matter how well you played up to that point. In three of four games, the Canadiens gave up a third-period lead, and this time, they couldn’t find a way to win. Macklin Celibrini finished with two goals and an assist, showcasing how good a player he is, and for the third time in a row, the Sharks got two points against the Habs, this time thanks to a 4-3 overtime win.
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