Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Allows three goals in loss
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Montembault made 13 saves in a 4-2 loss to Buffalo on Thursday. He allowed three goals.
Buffalo scored the first three goals to build a 3-0 lead by the 2:25 mark of the second period. Montembault has started five of Montreal's last 10 games, going 3-1-1 in that span. He has struggled this season to show that his 31-24-7 record, 2.82 GAA and .902 save percentage from last year were replicable. The talent is there -- he's delivered three straight seasons with a save percentage of .901 or above. However, Montembeault has delivered a .871 save percentage in 21 appearances (19 starts) in 2025-26.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Between pipes Thursday
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Montembeault will defend the home crease versus Buffalo on Thursday, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.
Montembeault is 4-0-1 in his last five starts, allowing 15 goals on 160 shots (.906 save percentage). Montembeault is 9-6-2 with the Canadiens this season and while his record is good, his peripherals of a 3.44 GAA and an .873 save percentage are not. The Sabres are scoring 3.27 goals per game, tied for 10th with Ottawa this season.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Set to start Tuesday
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Montembeault will defend the road net against Washington on Tuesday, per Patrick Friolet of RDS.
Montembeault will get the second half of Montreal's back-to-back after Jakub Dobes plays in Monday's home matchup against Vancouver. The 29-year-old Montembeault has won his last three outings while stopping 77 of 84 shots. He has gone 8-6-1 with a 3.39 GAA and an .869 save percentage across 18 appearances this season. Washington is tied for eighth in the league during the 2025-26 campaign with 3.26 goals per game.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Guarding home goal
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Montembeault will start at home against Floirda on Thursday.
Montembeault has a 7-6-1 record, 3.48 GAA and .865 save percentage in 17 appearances in 2025-26. He's won his past two starts while stopping 52 of 57 shots (.912 save percentage). Florida is tied for 17th in goals per game with 3.05.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Picks up win
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Montembeault stopped 24 of 27 shots in Sunday's 4-3 overtime win over the Stars.
Montembeault made his second start since ending his loan at AHL Laval on Dec. 16, and he's earned back-to-back OT wins against Florida and Dallas. In those two games, the 29-year-old has allowed five goals on 57 shots faced. He should continue as the Canadiens' No. 1 goaltender ahead of Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler going forward.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Starting Sunday
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Montembeault will start Sunday's contest against the Stars, Canadiens insider Patrick Friolet reports.
After just two starts in December, Montembeault will make his first start of 2026 on Sunday in Dallas. The 29-year-old is 6-6-1 with a 3.53 GAA and an .863 save percentage on the campaign. He'll get another shot at a Stars team that beat him twice on six shots after he came on in relief of Jakub Dobes on Nov. 13 in a 7-0 Stars win.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Bailed out in OT win
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Montembeault made 28 saves in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime win over the Panthers.
The game was still scoreless midway through the third period, but Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart struck to give Florida a 2-0 lead with less than five minutes left in regulation. Montembeault buckled down and didn't allow another goal, giving Montreal a chance to rally before Nick Suzuki potted the winner in OT. It was the 29-year-old netminder's first start since Dec. 9, as he's fallen to third on the Habs' depth chart behind Jakub Dobes and rookie Jacob Fowler, while the win was Montembeault's first since Nov. 28. On the season, he sports a 6-6-1 record with a shaky 3.53 GAA and .863 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Will join team in Tampa
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Montembeault (not injury related) will join the Canadiens ahead of their Dec. 28 game against the Lightning, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports Sunday.
Montembeault was loaned to AHL Laval for a conditioning stint. He has played only twice in the month of December so far, so the conditioning move will allow him to sharpen his skill set at the AHL level. He'll have a couple more practices with Laval before joining the Canadiens on the trip in Tampa next Sunday. In the meantime, Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes will continue to handle goaltending duties.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Appears in relief
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Montembeault allowed three goals on 12 shots in relief Tuesday in a 6-1 loss to the Lightning.
Neither Montembeault nor starter Jakub Dobes has been good through November and into December, and the Habs have slipped out of a wild-card spot. Montembeault is 5-6-1 with a 3.65 GAA and an .857 save percentage in 13 starts (15 appearances). Bench him until he rights the proverbial ship.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Moves past illness
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Montembeault (illness) will suit up for Tuesday's home matchup versus Tampa Bay.
Montembeault won't get the start Tuesday, as Jakub Dobes will be in net. The 29-year-old Montembeault missed just one game due to his illness, but he didn't play in the two previous contests after a shaky outing last Tuesday versus Ottawa -- he gave up five goals on 29 shots in that loss. The Quebec native is 5-6-1 with a 3.61 GAA and an .861 save percentage over 14 appearances this season.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Will miss Sunday
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Montembeault (illness) will not dress in Sunday's game against the Blues.
Montembeault was set to start Sunday after Jakub Dobes started Saturday's front end of Montreal's back-to-back, but an illness has thrown a wrench in those plans. Kaapo Kahkonen has been called up from AHL Laval to back up Dobes in Montembeault's absence. It remains to be seen if Montembeault will be available for Montreal's next game, Tuesday against the Lightning.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Stumbles against Sens
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Montembeault made 24 saves in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to Ottawa.
It was the first time since Oct. 23 that Montembeault had given up more than four goals. The 29-year-old netminder has just one win in his last six outings, going 1-3-0 during that stretch with a shaky 3.86 GAA and .855 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Impressive vs. Golden Knights
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Montembeault stopped 30 of 31 shots in Friday's 4-1 win over the Golden Knights.
Montembeault didn't play in the Canadiens' last two games due to a series of subpar performances, but he was able to bounce back admirably in this one. This was the highest save percentage he's posted in a single game in 2025-26, and it'll be a confidence booster for the struggling 29-year-old netminder. Prior to this excellent performance in Vegas, Montembeault posted a 2-2-1 record with a 3.63 GAA and an .860 save percentage in seven November appearances.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Set to start Thursday
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Montembeault will start Thursday's home game against the Capitals.
Montembeault hasn't been particularly sharp in recent weeks, as he's gone 2-3-1 with a 3.75 GAA and an .858 save percentage over his last seven appearances. However, he'll have a relatively favorable matchup against a Capitals team that is scoring just 2.79 goals per game this year, which is the ninth-worst mark in the league.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Comes up short against Bruins
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Montembeault turned aside 20 shots in Saturday's 3-2 loss to Boston.
The 29-year-old netminder shut the door in the third period to give the Habs a chance at tying the score, but his offense couldn't find an equalizer against Jeremy Swayman. Montembeault is 2-4-1 over his last eight outings with a shaky 3.80 GAA and .853 save percentage, but so far coach Martin St. Louis has stuck with him as Montreal's No. 1 in net rather than giving youngster Jakub Dobes a larger workload.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Called upon in relief Thursday
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Montembeault stopped four of six shots Thursday after replacing Jakub Dobes to begin the third period of a 7-0 loss to the Stars.
Neither netminder got much help from their defense, and both goals that Montembeault allowed came from right on his doorstep, as a Dallas player was allowed to bang home a loose puck. Montembeault has started four of Montreal's last six games, more due to Dobes' struggles than anything else, and over that stretch he's gone 2-1-1 with a 3.38 GAA and .872 save percentage.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Gets back to winning ways
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Montembeault stopped 25 of 27 shots in Saturday's 6-2 win over Utah.
Montembeault was coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins in which he stopped 38 of 42 shots, but he got back to winning ways with a solid outing against Utah while posting a .926 save percentage -- his highest mark of the season in a single game. This was a step in the right direction, but Montembeault's overall numbers remain subpar. Through eight appearances, the 29-year-old has gone 4-3-1 with a 3.46 GAA and an .864 save percentage in 2025-26.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Tending twine Saturday
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Montembeault will start Saturday's home game against Utah, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.
Montembeault is coming off a 38-save effort in a 5-4 shootout loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday. He has a 3-3-1 record this season while allowing 26 goals on 179 shots. Utah ranks ninth in the league with 3.36 goals per game this campaign.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Set to start Tuesday
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Montembeault is expected to be between the pipes at home versus the Flyers on Tuesday, Stu Cowan of The Montreal Gazette reports.
Montembeault has given up three or more goals in all but one of his six appearances this year. Those struggles, the 29-year-old netminder is sporting a career-worst .839 save percentage, have opened the door for Jakub Dobes to steal some extra starts. Still, Montembeault remains the No. 1 option for the Habs for the time being, though he could end up in a split share if he continues to underwhelm.
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Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Subpar showing Saturday
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Montembeault stopped 18 of 22 shots in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Rangers.
Montembeault has endured a rough start to the season and delivered another woeful showing in this contest. He's given up exactly four goals in his last two starts, but perhaps even more worrisome is that he's posted a save percentage below the .900 mark in three of his four starts to date. Through four contests, the 28-year-old netminder has gone 2-2-0 with a 3.26 GAA and a disappointing .857 save percentage.
