Dobes gets the call against the Hurricanes for first Canadiens game of 2026

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes, left, gloves a shot with Pittsburgh Penguins' Kris Letang, right, looking for a rebound and Cole Caufield, rear right, defending during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press)

Goaltender Jakub Dobes will defend the Montreal Canadiens’ net against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight.

Martin St-Louis made the announcement after the team’s practice Thursday morning at the Lenovo Centre.

The 24-year-old Czech will play his first game since Dec. 21 in Pittsburgh. In that game, Dobes allowed three goals in regulation and two in a shootout, including the game-winning goal by Rickard Rakell, in a 4-3 loss by the Canadiens to the Penguins.

In that game, veteran Sidney Crosby scored a goal and added an assist, a performance that allowed him to surpass Mario Lemieux for the most career points in a Penguins uniform.

Dobes, who will be playing his first career game against the Hurricanes, has a 12-5-3 record, a 2.90 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage in 2025-2026. He is looking for his first shutout of the season.

On the blue line, Jayden Struble will replace Adam Engstrom, the Habs’ head coach also announced.

The Canadiens (21-12-6 - 48 points) enter the game in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, three points behind the Hurricanes (24-12-3 - 51 points), who sit atop the conference standings.

The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Demidov named NHL Rookie of the Month for December

Habs right winger Ivan Demidov, who led all first-year players in the National Hockey League in December with four goals and 14 points in 15 games, has been named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month.

Demidov was selected ahead of right winger Beckett Sennecke (5-6-11 in 15 games) of the Anaheim Ducks, defenceman Axel Sandin-Pellikka (2-7-9 in 15 games) of the Detroit Red Wings, centre Linus Karlsson (5-3-8 in 13 games) of the Vancouver Canucks, left winger Igor Chernyshov (3-5-8 in 7 games) of the San Jose Sharks, and right winger Ryan Leonard (2-6-8 in 7 games) of the Washington Capitals.

The fifth overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Demidov also ranked among the top rookies in December in assists (1st - 10); even-strength assists (1st - 7); even-strength points (1st - 10); power play assists (tied for 2nd - 3); power play points (tied for 2nd - 4); goals (tied for 4th - 4); and even-strength goals (tied for 5th - 3).

Demidov recorded points in 11 of his 15 games in December. He had a five-game streak with at least one assist and one point from 3 to 11 December (0-5-5) before finishing the month with a four-game streak with at least one point (Dec. 21-30: 3-4-7).

Since the start of the 21st century, only three Canadiens rookies have accumulated more points in a single calendar month: Michael Ryder (7-9-16 in 14 games in January 2004), Cole Caufield (7-8-15 in 15 games in March 2022) and Lane Hutson (1-14-15 in 14 games in March 2025).

At 20 years of age, Demidov ranked first among NHL rookies with 10-23-33 in 39 games this season prior to the Jan. 1 games.

He also ranks among the top 20 first-year players in assists (1st - 23); even-strength assists (1st - 15); shooting percentage (1st - 18.9% - minimum: 1 shot on goal per game); even-strength points (2nd - 23); power play assists (2nd - 8); power play points (tied for 2nd - 10), game-winning goals (tied for 2nd - 2), goals (3rd - 10) and even-strength goals (3rd - 8).

Demidov is the second Canadiens player in as many seasons to be named “Rookie of the Month”.

In December 2024 and March 2025, Huston earned the honour before winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year.

Demidov succeeds defenceman Matthew Schaefer (October) of the New York Islanders and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (November) of the Minnesota Wild as the winner of this monthly award.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 1, 2025.