What Jakub Dobes said after Game 4 tells you everything
Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
The Montreal Canadiens walked out of Bell Centre on Wednesday night down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Final, staring at elimination.
Carolina blanked them 4-0. Frederik Andersen stopped all 18 shots he faced for his third shutout of these playoffs.
Three goals in a brutal 2:47 span from Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, and Logan Stankoven in the first period essentially decided the game before it started.
Jakub Dobes faced 42 shots, stopped 39, and got nothing back from his offense.
With Montreal's net empty late in the third, the puck rattled off the post. The Bell Centre erupted anyway and started chanting Dobes' name.
"It's been unbelievable. My family is here and they're loving it. The fans have a special place in my heart for sure."
- Jakub Dobes
- Jakub Dobes
What most outlets glossed over is what sits underneath that quote.
Wednesday was Dobes' 25th birthday. His family was in town. He faced 42 shots, stopped 39, and still walked out as the emotional center of the building - not the team, not the captain, the goalie.
This is bigger than a feel-good moment
The Bell Centre doesn't chant for goalies after shutout losses by accident.
It means the crowd has moved past measuring this series by the scoreboard and started measuring it by one man's will.
Dobes wasn't selling comfort after the final horn.
"I feel like we've been underdogs all season," he said. "We are super underdogs now."
- Jakub Dobes
- Jakub Dobes
That's not a beaten man talking. That's a goalie sitting at a .912 save percentage over 18 playoff starts who has carried Montreal further than almost anyone predicted.
Game 5 in Raleigh isn't decided yet
The 3-1 deficit is real and Carolina is the better team right now.
But a goalie who turned a shutout loss on his 25th birthday into the loudest moment of the night is a dangerous man to count out.
Game 5 goes Friday in Raleigh.
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