Canadiens assign Samuel Montembeault to AHL on conditioning stint
The Montreal Canadiens announced on Tuesday that they have assigned goalie Samuel Montembeault to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, for a conditioning stint.
Les Canadiens ont cédé le gardien Samuel Montembeault au Rocket de Laval à des fins de conditionnement. The Canadiens have assigned goaltender Samuel Montembeault to the Laval Rocket on a conditioning assignment.
Montembeault has struggled mightily this season after entering the campaign with lofty expectations on his shoulders. Once on the periphery of the roster discussion for Canada’s Olympic roster, the 29-year-old from Quebec has instead posted the worst effort of his career to this point, going 5-6-1 in 13 starts with a 3.65 goals against average and .857 save percentage.
Deeper numbers don’t paint a better picture, either, as according to Natural Stat Trick, Montembeault ranks 62nd out of 62 goalies with at least 360 minutes of 5-on-5 play this year in goals saved above average per 60 minutes.
Head coach Martin St. Louis has not started Montembeault since he surrendered five in a key divisional loss at the hands of the Ottawa Senators.
The Canadiens have done their best to stay away from Montembeault to give him the time to reset, but he was pressed into action in a relief appearance against Tampa Bay on Dec. 9, an outing that saw him surrender 3 more goals on just 13 shots.
Jakub Dobes has been noticeably stronger than Montembeault this season, but even he has not quite measured up to what the team needs out of a starter with his 3.03 GAA and .892 SV%. Montreal called up rookie Jacob Fowler in a bid to fix the situation, and he was strong in his NHL debut before coughing up a 3-0 lead en route to a 5-4 overtime loss in his second career start against the New York Rangers.
Despite their struggles in the crease, Montreal has been able to mostly maintain their status as one of the eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference. A hot start gave way to a brutal slump, but the Habs have steadied the ship. Currently, their 17-11-4 record is good enough to put them in third place in the Atlantic Division.
The Canadiens host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, and they have two more at home to close out the week against Chicago and Pittsburgh.