The Montreal Canadiens have recalled goaltender Cayden Primeau in the wake of an injury to starter Sam Montembeault. Montembeault left Game 3 during a second-period TV-timeout, after a conversation with Montreal’s director of sports medicine and performance, Jim Ramsay. He has been listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, did not practice on Sunday, and will formally be questionable for Game 4 – head coach Martin St. Louis shared with NHL.com. Montreal will start rookie Jakub Dobes in their next matchup, and now have Primeau as a potential backup option.
Primeau has had a near-perfect season in the minor leagues. He’s posted a dazzling 21-2-2 record, .927 save percentage, and 1.96 goals-against average. In turn, Primeau recorded the fewest losses, the third-highest save percentage, and the highest goals-against average of all qualified AHL goalies. It was a true breakout performance after Primeau posted a .909 save percentage, and varying surrounding stats, in each of the last four AHL seasons.
Primeau was the de facto starter any time he was in the AHL, though he fell three games shy of the Laval Rocket’s lead in games played after spending two months on the NHL roster to start the season. He stepped into 11 games over that tenure and managed a far less encouraging 2-3-1 record, .836 save percentage, and 4.70 goals-against-average. It continued what’s been a string of underwhelming NHL performances for Primeau, who sits with a 13-24-7 record and .884 save percentage through 55 career games. Those numbers were boosted slightly by a .910 save percentage in 23 games last year – numbers that Montreal will hope he can recreate after a flawless season in the minor leagues.
The Flyers should seriously consider making a move for Primeau. Give his dad a call!