With Montreal’s Cinderella playoffs in the rear window, we continue with our report cards. Having already covered the forwards, it’s now time to evaluate the goalies and defencemen.
Players must have played in at least five games to receive a grade. They are graded on performance relative to expectations.
Goaltenders
Jakub Dobes: A
Dobes had an excellent first two rounds in the playoffs, followed by an average one in the Conference Final. Jakub has really taken off since Montreal’s management changed goalie coaches. His play reminded many fans of Jaroslav Halak and his heroic play in the 2011 playoffs. Fans started to create their own Dobes stop signs to tribute Halak and cheer on Dobes. He’s a mentally strong netminder, and had to put up with being bowled over in the crease more times than a typical rookie would normally endure. The referees started to notice his feigning injury after each time, and they must have been sharing notes with their colleagues about it. The worst occurrence happened late in the Carolina series and did not earn a penalty. He will have to take his experience from this postseason into training camp in the fall. He should be the number one netminder for Montreal next season.
Stats: 19 GP, 9-10 record, 2.66 GAA, .908 SV%
Defencemen
Lane Hutson: A
Lane was the offensive leader from the back end these playoffs, much like he was during the regular season. His 16 points tied Nick Suzuki for the team lead. Hutson was targeted by opponents a lot, but managed to play a strong defensive game while also playing more than any other Canadiens skater. His production did dip against the Hurricanes, as he was managing exactly a point per game going into the third round. Lane is a big part of this Montreal core, and the experience he and the others gained from the playoffs is invaluable.
Stats: 19 GP, 3 goals, 13 assists, 16 points, -3 rating, 30 shots, 25:27 ATOI
Kaiden Guhle: A-
Guhle has the right combination of tools to be an effective playoff defender. His size, skating, and hockey sense go along well with some grit. Kaiden showed up for the postseason and was the second-leading point producer for the Habs among their defencemen. Guhle managed to stay healthy for the playoff run, which is typically his biggest annual challenge. I would have liked to see Guhle get more shorthanded time, not only because he can play that role well, but it would have spared overtaxing Mike Matheson’s ice time.
Stats: 19 GP, 0 goals, 8 assists, 8 points, even rating, 12 shots, 20:28 ATOI
Mike Matheson: A-
Matheson played mostly in a shutdown role in this year’s playoffs, sacrificing points for defence. He was ranked fourth among blueliners in team scoring with four points. Having said that, he did score an important game-winning goal in Game Two versus Buffalo. Mike spent more time killing penalties than any other Montreal defender. Matheson was about a half minute behind Hutson in ice time this postseason. I feel the veteran blueliner played well overall for the 2026 playoff drive.
Stats: 19 GP, 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, -1 rating, 24 shots, 24:51 ATOI
Noah Dobson: B
Dobson returned from a hand injury suffered in late March to play in Game Seven against Tampa Bay. You could tell his shooting was still hampered by that injury, but he still managed to step up defensively and play a top-four role for his team. I give him a lot of credit for helping his team when they needed it most. I enjoy watching Dobson paired with Hutson, as this duo is one of the strongest blueliner pairings I have watched since Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban played together.
Stats: 13 GP, 0 goals, 1 assist, 1 point, -7 rating, 21 shots, 22:02 ATOI
Alexandre Carrier: B
Carrier was mostly paired with Matheson in the first round until Dobson returned from his regular season injury. He exceeded my expectations, particularly offensively, where his seven points were third-most on the back end. His only goal was a beauty, scoring on a wrist shot during a two-on-one attack against Buffalo in Game Two. He should have also earned an assist on the play since he stripped the puck away from a much bigger Tage Thompson, then skated up the ice to score. He sometimes gets outmatched by bigger forwards, but many times his hockey sense gives him the edge to outplay them.
Stats: 19 GP, 1 goal, 7 assists, 8 points, +2 rating, 7 shots, 22:00 ATOI
Jayden Struble: C+
Struble was treated like a yo-yo for the three playoff series. He was in the lineup for every game of the Tampa series, then a healthy scratch for all the games against Buffalo, but returned to play in all of the Carolina games. Unlike Arber Xhekaj, being pencilled into the lineup meant that Struble was going to get shifts and ice time. In some games, he was paired with Hutson, and they played well together in the regular season. While Jayden produced no points, his defensive game was sound and he provided toughness when needed.
Stats: 12 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, +2 rating, 6 shots, 11:40 ATOI
Arber Xhekaj: C+
Most of the time, Arber appeared to be playing well in the postseason. He surprised many of us fans with a goal from a quick snapshot in the second game against Buffalo. An exception may be in the overtime loss against Tampa in Game Six, when he appeared to make the wrong decision to pressure the puck carrier high in the defensive zone instead of falling back to help his partner. However, his ice time kept getting reduced as the playoffs advanced. It may be more the case that he was sheltered. That strategy can work for a short time, like a period or so, but Montreal kept using it more and more. In the end, I feel that put too much extra time on their top four defencemen, and by the time they were in the third round, they were running out of gas. Like the coaching staff, I am also losing hope that Xhekaj can hold on to a bottom-pairing role for Montreal. I will not be surprised if he is moved out as part of a trade this offseason, since he does have value when facing bigger, stronger opponents.
Stats: 13 GP, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, +5 rating, 8 shots, 8:05 ATOI