With an NHL-high 23 Stanley Cup wins , the Montreal Canadiens have many magnificent tales to tell.

One key storyline from the post-1967 expansion era is the pair of rookie goalies who came out of nowhere to deliver Stanley Cups with Conn Smythe Trophy performances.

Could history repeat itself this year?

After spending most of his first pro season in the AHL, 23-year-old Ken Dryden made his NHL debut with the Canadiens on March 14, 1971. He won all six of his regular-season games, then played every minute of the post-season as he went on to win his first of six Stanley Cups with Montreal.

Dryden retired in 1979, and the Canadiens didn’t reach the Cup Final again until 1986.

After seizing the No. 1 job that year with a 23-18-3 record in 47 regular-season games, 20-year-old Patrick Roy played every second of the 1986 playoffs for Montreal, going an incredible 15-5 on the way to the first of his four Cups — two with the Canadiens, and two with the Colorado Avalanche.

This season, with his 5-4 overtime win over the New York Rangers on Sunday, 23-year-old Jakub Dobes became just the eighth goalie in NHL history to win his first five games within a single season.

Dryden, of course, is also on that list.

Drafted in the fifth round in 2020, Dobes has come out of nowhere for Montreal. Hailing from Ostrava in Czechia, the 6-foot-4 stopper first made the move to North America as a 16-year-old, in 2017. Landing in the midwest, he played in St. Louis, then with the Topeka Pilots of the NAHL and the Omaha Lancers of the USHL before spending two years at Ohio State University. He has seen limited action internationally, and did not play at the World Junior Championship in any year.

Last season, Dobes made his pro debut with the AHL’s Laval Rocket. He put up a .906 save percentage and 2.93 goals-against average over 51 appearances, then improved on those numbers this year.

On Dec. 27, Dobes earned his first NHL call-up. One day later, he made headlines with a 34-save performance as the Canadiens earned a 4-0 shutout win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

Over his five games to date, Dobes has now given up eight goals, for a 1.55 goals-against average and .940 save percentage. He has also saved 8.5 goals above expected , a stunning margin of 1.65 goals per game.

Dobes isn’t the only reason why the Canadiens have climbed from 28th place in the 2023-24 NHL standings to where they’re now fighting for a playoff spot. But his arrival has certainly helped the cause.

At the Christmas break, Montreal was 14-17-3 over 34 games, and seven points out of the second wild-card in the Eastern Conference, with five teams ahead of them. Since then, they’ve gone 9-2-1, with their goals-against dropping from 3.59 goals per game to 2.58 while their scoring has jumped from 2.94 goals per game up to 3.33.

Starter Sam Montembeault has still been carrying the bulk of the load in net. And while he’s a solid 4-2-1 since Christmas, his save percentage has slipped from .900 to .897 and his goals-against has also dropped slightly, from 2.94 to 2.98.

While the Canadiens have made up ground, they’re still in a dogfight for a playoff spot. Heading into games on Jan. 20, the Ottawa Senators held down the first wild-card spot in the East with a record of 6-4-2 since Christmas, while the surprising Columbus Blue Jackets had gone 8-2-1 to take over the second wild-card berth. And while the Boston Bruins are just 3-6-2 since Christmas, they’re also still in the mix.

The Bruins are taking on the San Jose Sharks on Monday (1 p.m. ET) while the Blue Jackets face the New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET).

With every point so critical, will coach Martin St. Louis elect to give Dobes more starts — or perhaps even a run of games at some point? Montreal has 10 games on the schedule before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, where Montembeault has been named as one of Canada’s three netminders. There is only one back-to-back set, right before the break on Feb. 8 and 9.

Upstart goaltenders have made big splashes in Montreal in the past. Dobes has a long way to go to match the legends of Dryden and Roy, but he’s off to a good start.

Next up for Montreal: the Tampa Bay Lightning visit Bell Centre on Tuesday.