Dobes has shutout in NHL debut for Canadiens against Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jakub Dobes made 34 saves in his NHL debut, and the Montreal Canadiens shut out the Florida Panthers 4-0 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

Dobes, who was recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League on Friday, is the fourth goalie in Canadiens history to have a shutout in his debut.

"Hockey is unpredictable,'' the 23-year-old said. "You never know. You just have to show up, work hard, and that is what happened. I am very happy about the result."

Kirby Dach scored twice for Montreal (15-17-3), which has won four of five.

"When you have a game like that, it is great, it brings confidence into the room and to the group in how we're doing it," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "But you have to turn the page. Enjoy it, but turn the page. I want to see the maturity from them when the puck drops tomorrow (against the Tampa Bay Lightning)."

Spencer Knight made 21 saves for Florida (22-13-2), which has been shut out in consecutive games (lost 4-0 to Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday) and had won nine straight home games against Montreal.

"I don't think we ever got to the level we need to get to for a chance to win a game," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "We allowed it to be even for the first part of that game. Then we made some mistakes, big ones, and were chasing the game. They played well, they played hard. We did not play a game we would recognize as our own."

Dach made it 1-0 at 1:39 of the second period. He missed a cross-ice pass from Alex Newhook, but the puck went off his left skate and past Knight.

Dach then extended the lead to 2-0 at 13:51 with a backhand on a breakaway.

"We are playing good teams and playing good hockey right now," Dach said. "We want to keep this rolling. We have a lot of big games coming up, teams who are in a playoff position. We want to prove ourselves as a playoff team.''

Jake Evans scored his third short-handed goal of the season at 17:19 to make it 3-0. He intercepted a pass in the neutral zone before scoring on a wrist shot from the left circle.

Cole Caufield made it 4-0 at 14:17 of the third period. Juraj Slafkovsky picked off a loose puck in the neutral zone and found Caufield in the slot.

Dobes made 10 saves in the third to preserve the shutout.

"All I know is, the guys in front of me did an unbelievable job," Dobes said. "I think I saw every puck, and that gave me a lot of confidence."

Montreal had not won at Florida since Dec. 28, 2018.

"We understand the caliber of team we were playing," St. Louis said. "But this wasn't just a win, but how we got it. I thought we played a smart, calculated game."

The Panthers, who have been shut out four times in their past eight games, next play the New York Rangers on Monday.

"I don’t think we are going to dwell on this one, just kind of move on," forward Sam Bennett said. "Mistakes are going to be made; it's about how you help each other and fix them. We are just going to move on from this game."

NOTES: Dobes is the seventh goalie in NHL history to defeat the defending Stanley Cup champions in his debut, and the first since Reto Berra of the Calgary Flames against the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 3, 2013. Dobes also joined John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks as the only active goalies to have a shutout in his NHL debut (minimum one game played this season). … Caufield has 12 goals on the road this season, tied for third in the NHL behind Sam Reinhart of the Panthers (14) and Brayden Point of the Lightning (13).