Canadiens HC defends Sam Montembeault after major goaltender blunder in loss to Kings: "We weren't sharp in front of him tonight"

Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis came to the defense of goaltender Sam Montembeault following a notable blunder in the team's 5-1 loss to the LA Kings on Tuesday at Bell Centre.

In the second period, LA Kings forward Alex Turcotte fired a wrist shot from the right circle. Montembeault made the initial save easily, smothering the puck along the ice with his pads.

However, instead of letting a defenseman retrieve it, Sam Montembeault tried to poke the puck forward with his stick to start a breakout. He misdirected the puck directly onto the tape of Kevin Fiala, who was standing unmarked in front of the net.

Fiala immediately capitalized on the opportunity, tapping it into the wide-open cage for a 3-1 lead for the Kings.

After the game, Martin St. Louis backed the goalie and said he's not concerned about Montembeault's confidence:

"I think we have 2 goalies, we've played pretty well as a group, we weren't sharp in front of Monty tonight so I'm not worried."

Priyanta Emrith

@HabsInHighHeels

#Habs Martin St-Louis says he's not concerned about Sam Montembeault's confidence: "I think we have 2 goalies, we've played pretty well as a group, we weren't sharp in front of Monty tonight so I'm not worried."

Sam Montembeault finished the contest with 21 saves, posting a save percentage of .840. The Montreal Canadiens' next game is against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

Sam Montembeault and the Canadiens fall to LA Kings at home

On Tuesday, the Montreal Canadiens suffered a 5-1 defeat to the Los Angeles Kings at Bell Centre.

Josh Anderson opened the scoring for the Habs, putting them ahead 1-0 at 19:17 of the first period. This was the lone goal of the opening frame.

Joel Edmundson tied it 1-1 for the Kings at 1:17 of the second period. Quinton Byfield increased the lead to 2-1 at 4:17. Kevin Fiala made it 3-1 at 5:22.

In the final period, Joel Armia scored to make it 4-1 for the visitors at 11:08. Warren Foegele sealed the win for LA with an empty-net goal at 15:32. Edmundson and Byfield notched two points apiece for the Kings in the matchup. Meanwhile, Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves and posted a .955 save percentage between the sticks.