Montreal Canadiens make last-minute goalie call up before game against St. Louis

One of the biggest issues with the Montreal Canadiens this year has been the inconsistency of their goaltending, and they were just hit with another setback.

Starter Samuel Montembeaut isn't able to play today against the St. Louis Blues, and they've had to call up Kaapo Kahkonen from the American Hockey League affiliate Laval Rocket.

Per NHL analyst Frank Seravalli, the Canadiens re-called Kahkonen, but Jakub Dobes will get the start against the Blues.

So far this year with Laval, Kahkonen has gone 6-2 but has a subpar .895 SV%. He's in his first year in the Canadiens organization. He was taken 109th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and has played for multiple teams in his career including the San Jose Sharks, Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche.

The Canadiens were counting on Montembeault to build off his season last year that saw the Habs go back to the postseason for the first time since their Cinderella-esque run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

But so far this year, Montembeault has been anything but consistent with a 5-6-1 record, a 3.61 GAA and .861 SV%.

They will need him to improve his play if they have realistic desires to not only go back to the playoffs this year but to advance further.