The Montreal Canadiens‘ 2025-26 season has been a tale of two goaltenders. One netminder has been adequate; the other hasn’t.
Jakub Dobes enjoyed a hot season debut for the Canadiens when he helped Montreal defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sep. 29. He stopped 26 of 28 shots and looked on pace to be one of the NHL’s more productive young goaltenders.
Then it all went downhill. Dobes has been 0-2-1 since, with an .812 save percentage. He has allowed 16 goals in that stretch, or 5.33 per game. The ill-fated performances have tanked Dobes’ numbers. He’s now 1-2-1 on the season with a .250 quality starts percentage, an .841 save percentage, and a 4.63 GAA.
That includes Wednesday night’s loss against the Washington Capitals, when Dobes finished the game with 18 saves, five goals allowed, and a season-worst .783 save percentage.
Jakub Dobes Has Been A Liability For The Montreal Canadiens
Dobes’ numbers are in strong contrast to what the Canadiens have seen from Jacob Fowler. Fowler has three starts, a 2-1-0 record, a .906 save percentage, and a 1.91 GAA. That said, Fowler’s consistency has been up and down, with six goals allowed in two of his three starts on 34 shots.
Still, his shutout and subsequent shootout win on Oct. 10 vs. the Detroit Red Wings and his shootout win vs. the Buffalo Sabres show off his resilience. If Dobes keeps underperforming as he has been throughout his previous three starts, the Canadiens will have no choice but to give the 21-year-old Fowler more opportunities.
It’s also worth exploring how much Montreal should put on Fowler’s shoulders. Fowler has 20 career starts, 11 wins, a .908 save percentage, a 2.35 GAA, two shutouts, and a .550 quality starts percentage.
Those are remarkable numbers. But the burning question is whether such a young netminder with fewer than two dozen appearances should be thrust into the limelight amidst the more experienced Dobes’ struggles.
Jakub Dobes Has Worked His Way Through Slumps In The Past
Last season, Dobes enjoyed a hot October when he went 6-0-0, notched a .930 save percentage, and allowed an average of two goals per game. But November 2025 was a different story. Dobes went 2-3-2 in seven starts, posted an .849 save percentage, and allowed four goals per contest. It was a dramatic polar shift in a one-month frame.
Still, Dobes bounced back and went 21-7-2 the rest of the way. He notched a .907 save percentage and allowed just 2.56 goals per game, cementing himself as the Canadiens’ top netminder going into 2026-27.
It’s also worth noting that Dobes played well on the big stage through 19 playoff games. While he finished 9-10 (9-6-4 while counting overtime losses), he ended the playoffs with a .908 save percentage and 52 goals allowed, or 2.73 per game.
Dobes has proven he can bounce back from speed bumps, and his most recent stretch of poor play gives him yet another opportunity. Still, with the Montreal Canadiens playing in a rough Atlantic Division that will only get better as the season progresses, the pressure is on for Dobes. He must get better in the net, or the Canadiens will need to lean more on Fowler.
Montreal Canadiens Goalie’s Numbers Take Stunning Turn