Dobes’ Playoff Chirps Sparked Bench Brawl, Taught Hard Lesson
Montreal Goalie Recounts Fiery Capitals Series Encounter
Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes discovered that talking the talk requires walking the walk during his team’s 2025 Stanley Cup Playoff clash with the Washington Capitals. The 24-year-old backup shared his memorable first NHL postseason experience at a teammate’s charity event. His bench taunts quickly backfired when starter Sam Montembeault suffered a groin injury early in Game 3.
From Taunts to Tumult
Called into action, **Dobes** faced immediate backlash from the Capitals players. They were definitely not nice to me the first five minutes,
he recalled. The situation escalated, leading to a second-intermission bench melee that included **Tom Wilson** and **Josh Anderson**.
The huge brawl in Game 3 of the Caps-Canadiens series started because Jakub Dobes wouldn’t stop chirping from the bench before he entered the game 🤣
(via YT/Royal LePage Atlantic Homestead) pic.twitter.com/tHCbzkKadA
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) July 30, 2025
A Chaotic Debut
Teammate **Arber Xhekaj**, also on the panel, elaborated on the chain of events. So, Dobey stands by the bench, right close to their bench, and he’s looking over and he’s chirping every single guy to come off the ice, yelling at them, chirping them, next thing you know our goalie gets hurt and Dobey has to go on the ice,
**Xhekaj** recounted. The period’s over so the other team has to skate across the ice and Dobey has to skate through all of them. So, nobody left, they just waited for Dobey, because they wanted to have a word with him, and then I got in there and it was just – it was madness.
**Dobes** admitted to being extraordinarily nervous. It was crazy. I was probably the most nervous ever. But we won,
he stated, referencing Montreal’s 6-3 victory in that game. The Capitals ultimately secured the series, winning four games to one.
Lessons Learned
While **Dobes** couldn’t recall specific insults, he joked about the outcome. I didn’t say anything that bad, so I don’t understand. But I guess it worked out. I stopped chirping in Game 4… I was just being quiet,
he said. Selected 136th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, **Dobes** allowed seven goals in 144 minutes of playoff ice time.
The Capitals’ bench was particularly vocal during the series. **Tom Wilson**’s antics after the Game 3 brawl, including a viral “crybaby” taunt directed at **Juraj Slafkovsky**, became a lasting meme from the matchup. This playoff series saw an average of 14 penalty minutes per game, reflecting its intense physical nature, a notable increase from the league average of 10.8 minutes per game in the preceding regular season (NHL.com, 2025 Season Stats).
https://youtube.com/watch?v=sVLO9Vcc_fM%3Fsi%3DQdO9M83X2s0m6q4b%22+width%3D%22560%22+height%3D%22315%22+frameborder%3D%220%22+allowfullscreen+loading%3D%22lazy
The events highlight the high stakes and intense emotions that can arise in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where a player’s words and actions can have significant, and sometimes unforeseen, consequences on the ice and beyond.
