Emotional Jakub Dobes Claims He Can Play 40 Games More After A Nail-Biting Game 7 Victory Over The Sabres

In the Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres, 24-year-old Czech national Jakub Dobeš saved 37 off the 39 shots for the Montreal Canadiens.

Emotional Jakub Dobes Claims He Can Play 40 Games More After A Nail-Biting Game 7 Victory Over The Sabres

Jakub Dobeš (Image via @CanadiensMTL on X)

In Short
  • Montreal Canadiens advance to the Eastern Conference Final after a Game 7 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres.
  • Jakub Dobeš made 37 saves, achieving a .949 save percentage despite being outshot 39-25.
  • Dobeš becomes only the second rookie goaltender in NHL history to register multiple Game 7 wins on the road in a single postseason.

After an excruciating thriller at the KeyBank Center, Buffalo, the Montreal Canadiens are through to the Eastern Conference Final after a Game 7 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres. The Canadiens scored through Phillip Danault and Zachary Bolduc in the first period before the Sabres came back to level the scores and extend the game into overtime.

Eight minutes left in overtime, Alex Newhook slapped a shot in the Sabers’ net to register a sensational win. After a difficult Game 6 which saw him pulled after the Sabres pummeled on, Canadiens’ Jakub Dobes bounced back with 37 saves and a point 949 save percentage despite being outshot 39-25.

Dobeš, 24, has come through for the Canadiens in a big way this playoffs, starting in all fourteen games. Earlier, the Canadiens played the Tampa Bay Lightning into Game 7 before advancing to the second round.

In the brutal fourteen games, the Czech national has faced the most shots (399) and allowed 36 goals with a per-game average of 2.52. Among all the eligible goaltenders in the playoffs, he has the eighth-best save percentage and second-best among goalies who have faced more than 300 shots. It has been a long postseason for Dobes, but he’s still pumped and enthusiastic.

In a postgame interview, Kyle Bukauskas of Sportsnet asked the Canadiens goalie how he was holding up after the grueling two series that went to a Game 7, the young man, brimming with emotion and buzzing with energy, chuckled that he could “play a forty more.”

He scripted NHL history as only the second rookie goaltender to register multiple Game 7 wins on the road in a single postseason. In 1971, Ken Dryden and the Canadiens edged out the defeated both the Boston Bruins in the quarter finals and then Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup in Game 7 on the road. Only a handful of Canadiens goaltenders have multiple career Game 7 wins to their name, and Dobeš has become the fifth. Dryden, Carey Price, Jaroslav Halak, and Patrick Roy are the others.

RELATED
Nathan MacKinnon’s Viral Flipper Swimming Clip Explained by Eric Johnson: “He’s a Complete Lunatic in the Best Way”

Elliotte Friedman calls Jakub Dobes the difference between the teams

In a post-game show featuring Elliotte Friedman and David Amber, the hosts agreed that Game 7 had both teams competing at the same level. It was not a lopsided affair at all, and both teams fought hard for a chance to play the Eastern Conference Finals.

Jakub Dobeš, Jacob Fowler
Jakub Dobeš with fellow Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler celebrating after the win over the Sabres (Image via @CanadiensMTL on X)

Friedman recalled Dobes’ interview with Kyle Bukauskas, admitting that everyone wondered if facing fourteen high-intensity games in a row had gotten to the 24-year-old. He went on to claim that he held the game from not falling into Buffalo’s hands:

He held them in this game. I think a lot of us wondered if 14 high intensity in a row got to him. He was the difference tonight. Buffalo was the better team. Dobeš held them until Newhook found them a way.

Amber then recalled Game 7 from the first round, where the Canadiens played the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dobeš had a sensational performance at the Benchmark International Centre in that game also, where he was outshot 29-9. The Czechian stood tall like a wall as the Lightning kept on attacking the Canadiens net from all sides.

The host then pivoted to Buffalo, speaking about the Sabres’ coming off a 14-season playoff drought and their journey so far. Friedman praised the young squad, naming Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, while also claiming that the Sabres deserved the win as the better team. However, it wasn’t just their night and the Montreal Canadiens head to their first true conference finals since 2013-14 season.

The Canadiens will face the powerful and well-rested Carolina Hurricanes, who are 8-0 in the playoffs. The series will start on Thursday in Raleigh at the Lenovo Center.

Also Read: