Thursday night in Dallas will tell us a lot about the Canadiens lines and this team. Jakub Dobeš gets the net after nine days off, Martin St-Louis keeps reshuffling his forwards while Nick Suzuki is out, and the power play is getting a fresh look. Here is what stands out heading into the final game of the road trip.

Jakub Dobeš Gets the Net

After nine days on the bench, watching Jacob Fowler play the best hockey of his young career, Dobeš is back in goal in Dallas. Let me be clear about the message: this is not a punishment. It is a reset, and a goalie who is competitive and aggressive by nature should be hungry for it.

The numbers explain why the questions exist. In his last start, on October 20 against San Jose (full game recap), Dobeš stopped 26 of 30 shots (.867) in a 4-3 overtime loss, and two of the four goals came on the power play, plus a 2-on-1 rush, the kind of goals that are hard to put entirely on the goalie. Still, his season line is a 1-2-2 record, a 4.47 goals-against average and a .847 save percentage. In goals saved above expected, MoneyPuck has him at -6.3, which ranks 69th out of 71 goaltenders. Fowler sits at +10.1.

The penalty is the part that hurt the most. In overtime, at 1:53 of 3-on-3, Dobeš was called for interference, a rare call on a goalie. San Jose went to a 4-on-3 power play and Macklin Celebrini scored 20 seconds later, ending the game. It was a point the Canadiens had in their hands, and a single mistake in a 3-on-3 overtime turned it into a loss. It is a detail of discipline and puck handling, not a question of talent, and that is exactly why it can be corrected.

The bounce-back should come. He has been through a worse night before, when he was pulled in a 7-0 loss in November 2025, and he answered that. It is also a good problem for the organization: two young goalies pushing each other is an asset, not a crisis.

Canadiens Lines: Newhook Moves Up, Kapanen Moves Down

The top two lines have not been giving St-Louis what he wants, and the data backs up the changes. Over the last three games (see our breakdown of how the Canadiens have played without Suzuki), the Kreider–Anderson–Newhook trio was outshot 38 to 19 in shot attempts at 5v5, a 33.3% share across almost 23 minutes. Newhook himself was on the ice for 22 attempts for and 52 against at 5v5, with no points in the three games.

At Wednesday’s practice, Alex Newhook skated on the top line with Juraj Slafkovský and Cole Caufield, while Oliver Kapanen dropped down to play with Owen Beck and Josh Anderson. Kapanen had spent most of the last three games next to Caufield and Slafkovský (a 55.0% attempt share, one goal for and two against), so the move is less about his play than about trying to give Newhook’s speed a better group of finishers.

Kreider and Matheson had a therapy day, so tonight’s lines may still change.

A New Power Play Look

The power play is at 11.4% and Dallas kills penalties at 92.9%, so something had to change. Hutson stays on the first unit, but Kirby Dach and Zachary Bolduc join it,, while Dobson and Kapanen come off. The second unit becomes Dobson, Kapanen, Newhook, Texier and Danault.

Two forwards who have been driving play at 5v5 get a chance to bring that to the man advantage. We will see right away whether it helps against a team that does not take many penalties.

Cole Caufield Gets the “A”

With Suzuki out of the lineup, Martin St-Louis has given Cole Caufield the alternate captain’s “A”. Caufield leads the team’s forwards in a way the box score only partly shows: 6 goals and 10 points in 12 games, 39 shots on goal, and 18:47 of ice time per game. His last three games were quieter (two assists, seven shots), but the letter is a recognition of his leadership while the captain is away.

For a player who has always been known for his shot, wearing the letter is a clear sign of the trust the coaching staff has in him.

The Fourth Line Gets Its Reward

If there is a line that has earned a bigger role, it is the fourth one. In the last three games, Jake Evans, Kirby Dach and the wingers around them produced seven points, more than any other forward line on the team. Evans has three points (two goals and an assist), Dach has two assists, Florian Xhekaj scored his first NHL goal on October 27 in St. Louis (game recap), and Owen Beck added an assist. During Suzuki’s absence, these four players have given Montréal the push it needed in the third period.

The impact is not only on the scoresheet. They are helping the team protect leads and keep the momentum. At 5v5 over the last three games, Evans–Dach–Xhekaj played 13:04 together and had 17 shot attempts for against only 2 against (89.5%), with one goal for and none against. With Beck in place of Xhekaj, the same trio played 6:51 and led 7 to 2. Put together, the line spent nearly 20 minutes at 5v5 with 24 attempts for and 4 against (85.7%) and a 2-0 goal edge.

Line (5v5, last 3 games)	TOI	Attempts F–A	Share	Goals F–A
Caufield – Kapanen – Slafkovský	29:46	33–27	55.0%	1–2
Danault – Texier – Bolduc	24:01	30–13	69.8%	0–0
Kreider – Anderson – Newhook	22:46	19–38	33.3%	0–0
Evans – Dach – Xhekaj / Beck	19:55	24–4	85.7%	2–0

St-Louis has noticed. Evans has gone from 13:33 per game in the first nine games to 16:54 in the last three, and Dach from 9:49 to 12:39. Dach is also now getting a look on the power play, and he is playing more on the penalty kill, going from 0:28 to 1:17 per game on the PK. Danault (4:17) and Evans (4:33) are the busiest forwards killing penalties, and Dach is moving into that conversation.

The lesson is simple: the coach rewards the players who earn it. Beck, Xhekaj and Dach all had to wait for their chance, and they are making it hard for St-Louis to take them out.

Tonight’s Game

Game	Details
Matchup	Montréal Canadiens at Dallas Stars
Date and time	Thursday, October 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET
Arena	American Airlines Center, Dallas
Where to watch	TSN2, RDS, Prime Video
Records	Canadiens 7-3-2, Stars 7-4-1
Last 10 meetings	Canadiens 4-4-2
Canadiens in Dallas	3-0-0 in the last three seasons

The Canadiens finish a four-game road trip with a chance to keep the winning going. Dobeš gets the start, the lines have a new look, and the power play gets a test against one of the best penalty kills in the league. Check the Lineup Tonight page for the final lines, follow the NHL standings, and follow the game with us on HABSHQ and on the Hockey Nation Live Show.