MONTREAL 鈥� Sam Montembeault found out last Sunday he鈥檇 don the red and white as one of Canada鈥檚 goalies at the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February.
The Montreal Canadiens netminder has only justified that selection since.
Montembeault stopped 29 shots and shut out the Nashville Predators in Montreal鈥檚 3-0 win on Thursday, a day after Canada鈥檚 team was officially announced. Two days earlier, he made 30 saves in a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders.
"Couldn't be better,鈥� he said after Thursday鈥檚 game. 鈥淭o come back and have those two good games right away ... it's still two months away, so I just want to focus one game at a time, but those last two games are really good."
Patrik Laine scored for the second time in as many games as a Canadien. On the shelf with a knee injury to start the season, the Finnish winger watched from the press box as Montembeault backstopped the Canadiens.
In two games sharing the ice, Laine鈥檚 been impressed.
"He's the back behind it all, he's keeping us together, he's kept us in the game so many times. Just unbelievable,鈥� Laine said. 鈥淭hat's why they picked him for Team Canada, for that reason. He shows up in big moments.
鈥淗e's been unreal."
The Canadiens killed all five Nashville power plays, including a 36-second 5-on-3 in the third.
Montembeault also stopped four shots on a penalty kill midway through the second period as the Predators began building momentum.
鈥淵our best penalty killer is your goalie. Tonight I think we were able to keep a separation because of our penalty kill, and especially our goalie,鈥� Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said. 鈥淭he penalty kill is a big positive for us since the beginning of the year, and it鈥檚 been consistent 鈥� in general it鈥檚 something we can always count on and it always starts with the goalie.
鈥淪am played an excellent game.鈥�
Montembeault has a .906 save percentage and a 2.82 goal-against average despite playing for a Montreal (10-13-3) team that ranks 30th in the NHL.
Three years ago, the Canadiens claimed Montembeault off waivers from Florida, where he had limited success during brief NHL stints over two seasons.
Now the 28-year-old from Becancour, Que., will join Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues and Vegas netminder Adin Hill in Canada鈥檚 crease for the Feb. 12-20 best-on-best tournament in Montreal and Boston.
"When I first got out there (Florida), some people were saying I was an AHL goalie at best,鈥� Montembeault said. 鈥淚 hope after three or four years that I changed their mind, and just want to keep going and get better.鈥�
Montembeault has experienced some tough outings this season. He was pulled twice in consecutive weeks in October with 7-2 and 8-2 losses to the New York Rangers and Seattle Kraken, but has managed to bounce back.
Staying even-keeled, he said, is a key to his success.
鈥淓ven when I had bad games, the next day you've just got to put it behind (you) and go back to work,鈥� he said.
LAINE AGAIN
After much anticipation, Laine is off to a hot start in Montreal. The former 44-goal scorer buried his first on Tuesday by firing a shot off the post and in, saying he closed his eyes and hoped for the best.
It was a different story on Thursday when he ripped a shot over Justus Annunen鈥檚 shoulder on a 5-on-3 power play in the third.
"This one, I picked the corner pretty good, I can't say anything else,鈥� Laine said. 鈥淚 had it labelled under the bar."
鈥淚t鈥檚 accurate, there鈥檚 power in his shot, there鈥檚 speed behind it too,鈥� St. Louis said of Laine鈥檚 release
The Bell Centre crowd showered Laine with an 鈥渙utrageous鈥� ovation that he said made for one of the coolest moments of his life after scoring on Tuesday. Otherwise, he felt "awful" in his first regular-season game in nearly a year.
Laine felt a slight improvement Thursday.
"I wasn't dying after every shift today, so that was a good sign. Wasn't out of breath after 20 seconds,鈥� he said. 鈥淧ucks are bouncing a little bit, just losing them like I normally probably wouldn't. But (I've) just got to play and I'm sure it'll come. (I'm not) too worried about it, it's been a pretty good two games so far."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
