Jakub Dobes Learned the Most When the Games Mattered Most

There is a temptation to look at Jakub Dobes’ 2025-26 season and focus on the numbers. The Montreal Canadiens’ young goaltender went 29-10-4 during the regular season, then helped carry the Canadiens all the way to the Eastern Conference Final. Those are impressive numbers for a 25-year-old goalie with only a season and a half of NHL experience.

But the most encouraging part of Dobes’ season might not have been how well he played. It might have been how he handled things when he didn't play well. That became especially important in the playoffs.

Dobes' postseason may have taught him something important.

Dobes had plenty of opportunities to lose his confidence. Montreal played two seven-game series before running into Carolina in the conference final. In the second round against Buffalo, his overall numbers weren't spectacular. He finished the series with a .897 save percentage and a 3.03 goals-against average. Yet there was something important happening underneath those numbers.

He didn't let one bad game become two. That may be the biggest lesson Dobes can carry into 2026-27. The Canadiens didn't get through those first two rounds because their young goalie was perfect. They got through because, when Montreal needed a big save, Dobes kept finding a way to make one.

And that was certainly true in the first round against Tampa Bay. Dobes posted a .923 save percentage and a 2.03 GAA over seven games, including a Game 7 performance in which he stopped 28 of 29 shots. Montreal managed only nine shots of its own and still won 2-1.

Did his great postseason change the young goaltender?

A goalie learns pretty quickly that the NHL isn't about playing perfectly. It's about being ready for the next shot. Dobes had already learned something about that during the regular season. November was a disaster by his standards, and he needed help getting through it. But by playoff time, he appeared much more capable of putting a bad moment behind him. That is an enormous development for a goalie who is now expected to be Montreal's starter.

The 2026-27 season will bring a different kind of pressure. Dobes won't be sneaking up on anybody anymore. Opposing teams will know who he is, and Montreal will expect him to be the guy.

He doesn't have to duplicate a .923 playoff save percentage. He doesn't have to steal every series. What the Canadiens need is the Dobes who learned that a bad game doesn't have to become a bad week. For a young starting goalie, that might be the most important thing he learned all season.