Canadiens' Primeau Looked Good In His First Game In Laval

On Friday night, Cayden Primeau played his first game with the Laval Rocket since April 2023. In the last few days, he had spoken to the media and revealed he had known he was being put on waivers since Dec. 23. Drafted in the seventh-round by the Montreal Canadiens at the 2017 draft, the 25-year-old had a terrible time in the NHL this season.

Related: Cayden Primeau’s NHL Struggles

Eventually, it led to the Canadiens demoting him and calling up Jakub Dobes. After getting over the initial shock, the netminder said he was glad about being able to play more games and denied that he lacked confidence. For him, the issue wasn't his confidence but rather that he didn't want to make mistakes. It seems like a question of semantics to me, but in any case, this is his current mindset.

In his return to action in the AHL, Primeau only surrendered one goal in an overtime win against the Abbotsford Canucks. He faced 28 shots in 61 minutes of action and was only beaten once in the first frame. He finished the game with a .964 save percentage.

Meanwhile, his replacement with the Canadiens Jakub Dobes has signed a pair of spectacular wins in his NHL debut. In 125 minutes of action, the Czech netminder has stopped 56 shots, surrendering a single goal and posting a 0.48 goals-against average and a .982 SP.

Related: Canadiens Survive The Avalanche

If you recall, Primeau himself had a good start in the NHL, winning his first two games with a 2.52 GAA and a .931 SP back in 2019-20, but he was never able to recreate that kind of magic since.

Right now, no matter how bright Primeau shines in the AHL, Dobes will stay in Montreal. The young netminder's performances have been beyond convincing and he's just what the Canadiens needed, a backup goaltender who can push Samuel Montembeault to be better. Internal competition is a wonderful motivation tool but with Primeau in Montreal there was no competition anymore. It remains to be seen if Dobes will be able to keep performing at the same high level, but so far, he's given us no reason to doubt his capacity to do so.

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