Samuel Montembeault has a lower-body injury and will miss 10 to 14 days, Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis said today.
It's the last update Montreal needed after Thursday night's 5-2 home loss to Nashville stretched the Canadiens' winless run to three games.
Montembeault had appeared in 2 games without picking up a decision, and he carries a $3,150,000 cap hit.
So who takes the net? Jacob Fowler got the call Thursday and stopped 15 of 18 shots in the loss.
He now sits at an .833 save percentage on the season, not the start he was hoping for.
Jakub Dobes has handled more of the load with 3 appearances, but his .856 save percentage won't calm anybody's nerves.
Losing your veteran goalie with the crease already leaking is like losing your umbrella halfway through a downpour. You were getting soaked anyway, but now there's nothing overhead.
-
Samuel Montembeault's injury creates a nightmare for the Canadiens
Montreal has allowed 19 goals through four games, and only the opener in Toronto came in under five.
Blaming the crease alone would be lazy. The skaters in front of it, Michael Matheson and his -3 rating included, have left these goalies hanging far too often.
Thursday's loss also included Arber Xhekaj's 10-minute misconduct, which left the blue line a man short for half a period.
The injury list is getting crowded, too. Ivan Demidov is on IR with a lower-body injury and isn't expected back until at least Oct 31.
If the clock starts today, the window covers Detroit on Saturday, Buffalo on Tuesday, Washington on Wednesday and Buffalo again on Oct 17.
That's four games in eight days with two young goalies sharing the work, including a back-to-back in the middle.
Nick Suzuki has done his part with 7 points, including a goal last night.
St-Louis has to name a starter for Saturday, and neither option has earned the job outright yet.
Does Kent Hughes start looking outside the organization for a veteran stopgap?
Ten days goes fast in October. If the goals against don't drop, two weeks could feel a lot longer than that.
Should Kent Hughes trade for a veteran goalie while Samuel Montembeault is out?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
NHL GMs will study this waiver decision closely as a very solid target suddenly becomes available
