Canadiens vs Lightning: Rookie Dobes vs Vasilevskiy

0:00On April 16th, the Montreal Canadiens and Tepebe Lightning are set for a first round playoff clash, with the bolts snagging home ice after the habs. Drop their final regular season game 4-2 to Philly. Both teams wrapped up with nearly identical records, strong at home and on the road, so that edge might not swing much. Injuries hit Montreal hard, losing top defenseman Noah Dopson to an upper body issue, forcing a call up for rookie David Reindbacher, there. 5th overall pick from last year. Fellow Ridey, Alexander Carriers also sidelined another couple weeks, leaving the habs thin on that side. Tampa's got their own wrinkle, with star Victor Hedman out for personal reasons after just 33 games, but whispers say he could return like. Nikita Kutcherov did back in 2021, boosting their already tough defense. Discipline could tip the scales too. Lightning took the most penalties all season, a net minus 13, while Montreal's cleaned up lately, killing. Off 22 of 23 power plays in their last 9 games.

1:03In net, its rookie Jacob Dobbs, facing veteran Andre Vasilevsky, both standing 6 foot 4 with solid stats. Dobbs at 0.901 save. Percentage. Vasilevsky, a touch higher. If Dobbs stays hot like his recent 10-in-4 stretch, the habs could slam shut Tampa's fading window and steal the series. Stay locked in with NHL News today. AI-powered updates. I'm Cory with the story.