Canadiens Goalie Makes NHL Debut Against Panthers

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Montreal Canadiens should have Patrik Laine back in the lineup this afternoon when they play the Panthers.

They will also have a new goalie.

Jakub Dobes, 23, will make his NHL debut today against the Panthers after being told the good news Thursday before the team’s flight south. 

The former Ohio State goalie who was 9-3-1 for the AHL Laval Rocket said he will have about 10 friends and family at the game as he, at least for now, takes over as Sam Montembeault’s backup.

Dobes will face Spencer Knight today at 1 p.m.

“Today was a good practice, the guys are super-cool and welcoming and I appreciate that,” Dobes said after practice at the IcePlex on Friday afternoon. “[Saturday] is a gameday and I don’t look ahead, just try and do my job and give us a chance to win. Everyone wants to play in this league, and you have to play against the best. You cannot hide as a goalie. I want to show myself, try and help the team. I am excited to compete against the best.”

No One Covers the Florida Panthers Like FHN. Period.

Subscribe to Florida Hockey Now Today!

The Canadiens are kicking off a trip no NHL team would envy.

Not only do they play a back-to-back against the Panthers and Lightning, but then they fly straight to Nevada to play the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

After playing Vegas, the Canadiens fly to Chicago — just to head back west to play in Colorado.

“It’s a few time zones and two sets of back-to-backs. So, it is an interesting road trip,” former Florida defenseman Mike Matheson said with a smile. “The way we were playing going into the break was the best we have played all season. I feel we are ready for it.’’

Added Montembeault: “We’re playing a lot of good teams in just a few nights. It’s going to be tough, but we have to try and do everything we can to be fresh, be ready to go every night.”

As for the Panthers, they play the next four games at home before they head west themselves.

Following a couple days off, the Panthers will try and get off to a quick start.

“It is coming quick. We had one skate and now we’re back in the game,” Matthew Tkachuk said after practice on Friday morning.

“We have no pregame skate, so it’s just get up and play. I love those afternoon games. I wish we had more of them. We’re playing against a young, hungry, talented team that is offensive and skilled. The building is always pretty good when we play them. We’ll just play as hard as we can, do it again in a day and a half. It’s that time of year.’’

PANTHERS V. CANADIENS NOTES

• Niko Mikkola, who left Monday’s game in the second and did not return, is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Adam Boqvist replaces him.
• Jesper Boqvist is back in the lineup after being hurt in Minnesota. Rasmus Asplund was returned to Charlotte.
• How to Watch: Today’s game is on local television, which means it will also be streamed locally on Panthers+ or ESPN+ (outside the Panthers TV footprint). In Canada, the game is on TSN and RDS.
• NHL Betting Odds: The Panthers are big favorites at the local book. Florida is -375 on the money line against the Canadiens. So, to cash on the Panthers to win, a $375 bet pays $100.

ON DECK: GAME No. 37

MONTREAL CANADIENS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Betting Odds — Panthers Favored: Money Line (-375); Puck line (-1.5, -145); Over/Under 6 (-130/+105)
• Last Season: Florida won 3-1
• This Season — At Montreal: March 15; Ap. 1. At Florida: Saturday; March 30.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 58-39-11, 6 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Dec. 30 vs. New York Rangers, 7 p.m.

PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (22-12-2) LINES

17 Evan Rodrigues // 16 Sasha Barkov // 13 Sam Reinhart

23 Carter Verhaeghe // 9 Sam Bennett // 19 Matthew Tkachuk

27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 70 Jesper Boqvist

10 AJ Greer // 94 Tomas Nosek // 25 Mackie Samoskevich

42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad

7 Dmitry Kulikov // 34 Adam Boqvist

88 Nate Schmidt // 26 Uvis Balinskis

30 Spencer Knight

72 Sergei Bobrovsky

Scratched: None

Injured: Niko Mikkola (upper body), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)

PROJECTED MONTREAL CANADIENS (14-17-3) LINES

13 Cole Caufield // 14 Nick Suzuki // 20 Juraj Slafkovsky

15 Alex Newhook // 77 Kirby Dach // 92 Patrik Laine

17 Josh Anderson // 28 Christian Dvorak // 11 Brendan Gallagher

51 Emil Heineman // 71 Jake Evans // 40 Joel Armia

48 Lane Hutson // 8 Mike Matheson

21 Kaiden Guhle // 45 Alexandre Carrier

72 Arber Xhekaj // 58 David Savard

75 Jakub Dobes

35 Sam Montembeault

Scratched: Michael Pezzetta, Jayden Struble, Cayden Primeau

Injured: None