The Montreal Canadiens are just one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. On Thursday night, the Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-3 in Game 5, giving them a 3-2 series lead. Things looked shaky in the first period, as the Canadiens trailed 3-2 to the Sabres, the latter of whom had just nine shots on goal. Usually, in the playoffs, coaches will have a quick hand to make a switch at goaltender. But for Martin St. Louis, he decided to stick with Jakub Dobes for the remainder of the game.
That decision paid off, as Dobes shut out the Sabres for the final two period, stopping all 27 shots faced. That allowed the Canadiens to score four unanswered goals, three of which took place in the third period.
After the game, St. Louis was asked about the sticking with Dobes after the first period. St. Louis credited goalie coach Marco Marciano for telling him to keep Dobes in the game.
Martin St. Louis credits Canadiens goalie coach Marco Marciano for sticking with Jakub Dobes in Game 5
"Well ultimately it's probably my decision, right? I feel like the goalie position is probably the one position that I can't help much, you know," said St. Louis. "So I try to stay out of it, and not be emotionally driven and being upset that we're down. The first period was chaotic on both sides. [Assistant coach Trevor Letowski] radioed up top to our goalie coach, Marco, and he made the call. It was a very quick call too. He said 'no keep him in.' Okay, let's move on. I feel like you have to empower the people that are actually certified for the position and that's what I did."
This is about as candid of a response you could get from St. Louis. During his playing career, St. Louis was one of the best in the game and has 16-years worth of playing experience in the NHL. That's why his transition into coaching has been so successful, especially taking over a rebuilding team.
St. Louis openly saying that he would defer to his goaltending coach, since it was a position he was not familiar with, is encouraging. There is a process on the coaching staff, and instead of letting emotions take over, he contacted Marciano to get his opinion on what to do with Dobes.
Putting that trust into Dobes paid off, especially stopping 27 shots in the final two periods of Game 5. Dobes has shown legitimate promise as their goaltender of the future, especially when there was doubt placed on him by media members once the playoffs rolled around. In Game 5, Dobes stopped 33-of-36 shots total. Through the playoffs, including Game 5, Dobes recorded a 2.28 goals allowed average and a .914 save percentage in 12 starts.
Instead of panicking, St. Louis trusted Marciano for his opinion on what to do with Dobes, and it paid off. Now, the Canadiens are just one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals to take on the Carolina Hurricanes.
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