Jakub Dobes gave the Eastern Conference Final its first real personality moment Thursday night, and it didn't involve a save.
During a stoppage in play, a scrum broke out around the Canadiens goaltender's crease. The official skated in, pointed straight at Dobes, and told him to stay out of it.
Dobes was not pleased about the instruction. The mic-up moment showed exactly how unfiltered the 24-year-old was in that exchange.
Anthony Martineau captured the scene and posted it Thursday with a single emoji that did more work than a paragraph. The crowd noise tells you the rest.
That's the intensity dial on this series. Game 1 of round three already has a goaltender chirping referees inside the first period of conversation.
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The kid carries a $965,000 cap hit and a .910 save percentage across 14 playoff games this spring. Five wins. Quiet résumé, loud presence.
Why Jakub Dobes refusing to back down matters for Montreal
Pierre McGuire already said this week that the Canadiens were lucky Dobes saved them in stretches against Buffalo. The kid clearly heard the noise around his role and is responding with attitude.
A goaltender who plants himself in scrums tells his defencemen something they don't have to say out loud. He's not going to be the easy guy to push around in this series.
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Carolina ran through Ottawa and Philadelphia by playing physical at every level. The Hurricanes finished the regular season 53-22-7 with 113 points, ranked 2nd overall.
That's the kind of opponent that pokes at the soft spot of every roster until something snaps. Dobes just told them his crease isn't it.
Sebastian Aho's controversial hit earlier in the same game already set the temperature. A goalie chirping back at officials in the next sequence is how a series finds its tone.
The numbers Dobes leans on aren't elite by old-school standards. The body language is what's bought him this run.
A new goalie matchup against Carolina in the next puck drop is a story that gets written tomorrow. Whether Dobes finds another official to bark at along the way is the part nobody can predict.
Should Jakub Dobes start every game of the Canadiens series against Carolina?
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