Samuel Montembault stood out against the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday and Jake Allen holds the net for the Montreal Canadiens so far this season.

Last year, Montembeault was capable of both the best and the worst. That included stunning performances from 48 saves in Dallas and 49 two days later in Vegas.

But he also had more difficult evenings. Last season he conceded four or more goals 15 times in 38 games.

“Last year I had to work the most on consistency. I’ve had excellent matches, but other difficult ones that hurt. That’s what I’m working on this season and I have to keep it up,” said Montembeault.

In his defense, the goalkeeper played mostly injured in the last three months of the season. He had two choices: help the team by enduring the pain and get started while Jake Allen was in the infirmary, or undergo surgery.

“We sat down and talked about it for a while. This is not a league to take a break in. So either he goes or he accepts the surgery. We got in and the focus was there,” said goalkeeping coach Eric Raymond.

It will be interesting to see what season Montembeault could have if he stays healthy. After three games, the Bécancour-born goalkeeper has nothing to be ashamed of with an average of 2.32 goals and a save of 0.931. If he keeps scoring goals like that, maybe the workload on the net will be better distributed.

“We don’t really think about that. My coach told me that we don’t look for quantity, but for quality,” said Montembeault.

“I think I’ve understood a lot of things since I was 29 and that’s when my game changed a bit. I’ve had good times and bad times. Each Guardian finds their recipe at some point in time,” shared Jake Allen for his part.

In five games for his side, Allen has also been very reliable in front of the net. But he has played more than 50 games in just two seasons. If consistency is Montembeault’s greatest challenge, it will certainly be the same for the 32-year-old veteran, who for the time being is officially following in the footsteps of the number one goalkeeper for the first time since autumn 2018, i.e. before the arrival of Jordan Binnington with the blues.