The Canadiens practiced on Wednesday at the StarCenter in Farmers Branch, the Stars’ own practice facility, and the session answered the biggest question for Thursday night: Jakub Dobeš will start in goal against Dallas, Martin St-Louis confirmed. The puck drops at 8:00 p.m. ET at American Airlines Center, where Montréal finishes a four-game road trip. The Canadiens have won all three games on the trip so far, outscoring Chicago, Winnipeg and St. Louis by a combined 8-2.
Dobeš and Jacob Fowler both took part in practice, and the lines moved around too. Below is what we saw, what it could mean, and the numbers behind Thursday’s matchup.
Lines and Pairings at Practice
| Group | Players at practice |
|---|---|
| Top line | Slafkovský – Newhook – Caufield |
| Line with Beck | Beck – Kapanen – Anderson |
| Defensemen who skated | Carrier, Dobson, Engström, Guhle, Hutson, A. Xhekaj |
| Therapy day | Kreider, Matheson |
| Goalies | Dobeš (starts Thursday), Fowler |
The defensemen rotated through different pairings, which tells us little about what St-Louis will use on Thursday. Before practice, Zachary Bolduc fired a puck over the net and shattered the glass. No injury was reported.
The two things to take from it are Alex Newhook and Owen Beck. Newhook moving up to play with Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský gives the top line a different look, and it moves Oliver Kapanen, who has centered those two since Nick Suzuki got hurt, to a line with Josh Anderson and Beck. Beck filled Chris Kreider’s spot at practice, and Kreider’s therapy day, along with Mike Matheson’s, leaves both unconfirmed for Thursday.
Practice combinations are not always the lines that play, so our Lineup Tonight page stays with Tuesday’s lines until the team confirms its lineup on game day. Nick Suzuki remains out with a left-hand injury, and Samuel Montembeault and Ivan Demidov are on injured reserve.
Jakub Dobeš: Quick Numbers
| Split | GP | Record | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 season | 5 | 1-2-2 | 4.47 | .847 |
| Career (regular season) | 64 | 37-16-9 | 2.91 | .899 |
| Against Dallas (2 starts) | 2 | 1-1-0 | 3.61 | .870 |
Dobeš won his first start of the season, 26 saves on 28 shots in Toronto on September 29, but he has allowed five or more goals in three of his five starts. His last one was October 20 against San Jose, 26 saves on 30 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss, so he will have gone nine days between starts.
He knows this opponent. In Dallas on January 16, 2025, he stopped 32 of 33 shots in a 3-1 win. His other start against the Stars was the 7-0 loss in Montréal on November 13, when he allowed five goals on 13 shots and was replaced after two periods. Fowler, meanwhile, is 6-1-0 with a 1.54 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage. We explain what changed in the Canadiens’ game in our breakdown of the last three games.
Game at a Glance
| Team | Record | Goals for per game | Goals against per game | Power play | Penalty kill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadiens | 7-3-2 | 3.17 | 3.00 | 11.4% | 83.7% |
| Stars | 7-4-1 | 2.75 | 2.08 | 18.5% | 92.9% |
Season numbers through the October 27 games.
Dallas is third in the Central Division and comes in after a 5-1 home loss to New Jersey on Tuesday, which ended a four-game winning streak that included two overtime wins. The Stars allow just 2.08 goals per game, and the reason is their goaltending and their penalty kill. Jake Oettinger is 6-2-1 with a 1.43 goals-against average, a .929 save percentage and three shutouts, although Dallas has not said who will start. Mikko Rantanen leads the team with 14 points, followed by Jason Robertson with 13 and Roope Hintz with 10.
The matchup to watch is special teams. The Canadiens’ power play is 4 for 35 (11.4 percent, 29th in the league) and it faces the second-best penalty kill in the NHL at 92.9 percent. A power-play goal against that unit would be a statement.
Canadiens vs. Stars: The Last 10 Meetings
Montréal is 4-4-2 against Dallas in the 10 regular-season meetings since 2021-22 and has been outscored 35 to 26, with two of the losses coming in overtime and a shootout. The Canadiens have been much better in Dallas. They have won all three visits over the last three seasons, 4-3 on January 2, 2024, 3-1 on January 16, 2025 and 4-3 in overtime on January 4, 2026, scoring 11 goals and allowing seven. The last meeting at the Bell Centre went the other way, a 7-0 loss on November 13.
| Date | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 4, 2026 | At Dallas | W 4-3 (OT) |
| Nov 13, 2025 | vs. Dallas | L 0-7 |
| Jan 16, 2025 | At Dallas | W 3-1 |
| Jan 11, 2025 | vs. Dallas | L 1-2 (SO) |
| Feb 10, 2024 | vs. Dallas | L 2-3 |
| Jan 2, 2024 | At Dallas | W 4-3 |
| Dec 23, 2022 | At Dallas | L 2-4 |
| Oct 22, 2022 | vs. Dallas | L 2-5 |
| Mar 17, 2022 | vs. Dallas | L 3-4 (OT) |
| Jan 18, 2022 | At Dallas | W 5-3 |
Regular-season results since 2021-22, from official NHL schedule data.
What to Watch
Dobeš has a lot of room to answer after a rough start to the season, and the team in front of him has been defending well. A win would make it a perfect four-game trip and send the Canadiens home at 8-3-2 with 18 points, with Pittsburgh visiting on Saturday. The standings are on our Standings page.
Sources: NHL official schedule, standings, game logs and team statistics; Canadiens practice report from October 28.
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