Game Five: A less than ideal situation

Jake Allen will get the call in goal for a second straight game when the Montreal Canadiens take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight.

The start is well deserved, Allen was outstanding in a 3-2 overtime win Saturday against the Washington Capitals. The back-to-back games make it an easy decision for the coaching staff, Sam Montembeault will likely play tomorrow night against the New Jersey Devils.

But Montreal still has three goaltenders on the roster and at some point, something has to give. Three other teams are carrying three goaltenders. It’s more likely they’re afraid of the Lightning striking on the waiver wire than this being an actual plan.

To add to the drama, Tampa Bay general manager Julien Brisebois was in attendance at the Bell Centre watching Allen put on a goaltending clinic on Saturday night. Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period told TSN 690 that he doesn’t see a scenario where the Lightning would be able to fit Allen in under the salary cap.

“Due diligence and wanting to get a handle on things… I don’t suspect given their cap situation that Allen would fall into what their looking at,” said Pagnotta about the Lightning. “But maybe Montembeault with a 1-million dollar cap hit would fit better for them.”

The Habs aren’t pressed to make a move but at some point they have to be fair with Cayden Primeau who might be happy earning an NHL pay cheque but has every right to be ticked off at the fact that he hasn’t seen any game action two weeks into the season. Montreal plays four times in the next six days and if he doesn’t play in at least one of them, you have to wonder what’s the point of having him on the roster? You might be terrified of losing him on waivers, but as a former agent, Kent Hughes has to realize that sometimes it’s okay to give a player an opportunity elsewhere that just wouldn’t have materialized with the current set of circumstances.

Regardless of the way the next week plays out, nobody seems to like the three goalie rotation. Especially goalies.

“There’s no pros to the three goalie system,” said retired NHL goalie Martin Biron during an appearance on TSN 690. “The cons are trying to get them all game action.”