The PA announcer tries to get a “Go Leafs Go!” chant going before the opening faceoff. It doesn’t work.
First period
The crowd isn’t in it, but the Leafs are, spending the opening few shifts in Montreal’s zone.
An icing call if the first reprieve for Montreal over three minutes in.
Montreal finally gets a shot on net, but then Noah Dobson gets caught trying to hold the puck in at the blue line, and Juraj Slafkovský has to hook Auston Matthews on the counter-attack to de...
Game 27: Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet E/O/P (English), TVA Sports (French) Streaming: ESPN+, CBC Gem, Sportsnet+
The Montreal Canadiens’ opening third of the 2025-26 season is set to conclude with a critical battle against the Toronto Maple Leafs that could determine the overall success of the first 27 matches. A win tonight gives them a four-point edge in the standings; a loss evens the teams at 31 points w...
Game 27: Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet E/O/P (English), TVA Sports (French) Streaming: ESPN+, CBC Gem, Sportsnet+
The Montreal Canadiens took arguably their easiest two points of the season when they played the Toronto Maple Leafs two weeks ago. There were some real concerns about how Jakub Dobeš would fare while he was in a sympathetic slump with Samuel Montembeault at the time, but the Leafs mustered v...
Coming off a massive victory against one of the best teams in the AHL, the Providence Bruins, the Laval Rocket went into Friday’s road game against the 10-11-2 Belleville Senators rolling. The first game of a back-to-back, Laval looked to set the tone for Saturday against a Senators team they’d beaten thrice already this season.
With Adam Engström and Florian Xhekaj being returned by the Canadiens on December 3, the lines saw a significant shift. The first forward line stayed, but Sammy B...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov smashed their career highs in ice time on Wednesday, gaining Martin St-Louis’s trust with great 200-foot play. [ TVA Sports ]
Juraj Slafkovský’s combination of physicality and goal-scoring is a rare combination in the NHL. [ TVA Sports ]
Mike Matheson says it took some getting used to the defensive-zone play that comes with killing penalties, but is thankful his speed helps him in that situation. [ TVA Sports ] ...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Martin St-Louis pushed all the right buttons for the Canadiens in their win over the Jets. [ Sportsnet ]
The season is a marathon, not a sprint. [ RDS ]
The importance of keeping confidence high amid a slump. [ RDS | Radio-Canada ]
Can Oliver Kapanen keep up this pace? Does he need to? [ La Presse ]
The Winnipeg Jets will reportedly host a Heritage Classic outdoor game against the Montreal Canadiens at Princess Auto Stadium on Octobe...
Less than 24 hours after finishing a very disappointing effort against the Ottawa Senators on home ice, the Montreal Canadiens were right back in action at the Bell Centre. With the Winnipeg Jets in town, they needed to find a way to bounce back from their poor showing quickly. The Atlantic division is extremely tight in the early goings of this season, and they would want to avoid starting another long losing streak in order to keep pace with the teams around them.
Martin St-Louis electe...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Andrei Markov turning three knee surgeries in 18 months into a 990-game career might be exactly the inspiration Kirby Dach needs right now. [ Montreal Gazette ]
The Canadiens right a long-standing wrong by honouring Markov. [ Sportsnet ]
Lane Hutson doesn’t understand the concept of a “day off”. [ Journal de Montreal ]
Unhappy with what he was seeing Tuesday night, Martin St. Louis told the team that those who didn’t play the right way we...
Following their game versus the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night, the Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Florian Xhekaj and defenceman Adam Engström had been loaned back to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.
Les Canadiens ont cédé l'attaquant Florian Xhekaj et le défenseur Adam Engstrom au Rocket de Laval. The Canadiens have loaned forward Florian Xhekaj and defenseman Adam Engstrom to the Laval Rocket. — Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 4, 2025
Xhekaj played five c...
Could you imagine Sportsnet not showing a tribute to a Toronto Maple Leafs player? It would never happen.
A full shakeup has been made to the forward lines. I’m not sure about putting Slafkovský back on the top line because he seemed to be doing good work on the second one.
I’m glad this game is also on RDS so I don’t gave to listen to Garry Galley’s giggling every time Montreal gets scored on.
First period
Mike Matheson advances up into the slot to take an open shot, a...
Game 26: Montreal Canadiens vs. Winnipeg Jets
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST In Canada: Sportsnet (English) In the Canadiens region: RDS (French) Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, Sportsnet+
Ahead of tonight’s game, the Montreal Canadiens will pay tribute to one of their best defencemen of the modern era. Andrei Markov will have his 990-game NHL career honoured in a ceremony at the Bell Centre. He had 572 points in his career, one of the most reliable producers during an otherwise ...
After a rather successful 2-1 road trip, the Montreal Canadiens were back at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night to face their divisional rivals in the Ottawa Senators. It was a less-than-triumphant return to home ice, culminating in a 5-2 loss that leaves them looking for answers in short order, since they’ll be hosting the Winnipeg Jets this evening.
A lot of the same problems that they faced during their last losing streak were evidently present in the loss, but hey, at least the power pl...
Game 26: Montreal Canadiens vs. Winnipeg Jets
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST In Canada: Sportsnet (English) In the Canadiens region: RDS (French) Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, Sportsnet+
Just as it looked like the Montreal Canadiens were beginning to turn things around, putting in good performances in losses and then finally breaking out with a three-game winning streak, a couple of rough games are threatening to start another slump. A 7-2 loss in Colorado was understandable co...
Coming off a weekend sweep in Pennsylvania, the Laval Rocket returned home to the confines of Place Bell for one night before they would head back out on the road to end the week. Waiting for them was the Atlantic Division-leading Providence Bruins, who had compiled an impressive 16-3-0 record on the season. The Bruins and Rocket met just a few weeks ago, with Jacob Fowler posting a shutout win in one of the most complete showings by the Rocket all season.
Pascal Vincent opted to keep his...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Andrei Markov got a head start on his homecoming celebrations. [ NHL.com | NHL.com ]
A tough November for the Habs. [ The Hockey Writers ]
The Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation announced a $2.6 million investment for the construction of a 17th refrigerated outdoor rink in Quebec, this one in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. [ Montreal Canadiens ]
The Habs have made it clear that Kaiden Guhle is a part of their future. [ RG.org ]
Alex...
First period
After an energetic start, it’s the Senators that make the biggest error by taking a penalty, allowing the Canadiens’ special teams to go to work.
Linus Ullmark is caught with a shot to the neck from Zachary Bolduc and dazed in his crease. He makes once more stop, but is unable to stop Juraj Slafkovský on the follow-up as Cole Caufield finds him across the crease.
Excellent pass from Cole Caufield to Juraj Slafkovsky, and it's 1-0 #Habs pic.twitter.com/eg0nxsnFzM...
Game 25: Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Senators region: TSN5 (English), RDS (French) Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Montreal may have lost the last game in uncompetitive fashion, but they had won three in a row before that loss to Colorado. They will be aiming for a fourth win in five games as they complete their home half of the season series with the Ottawa Senators.
...
Game 25: Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Senators region: TSN5 (English), RDS (French) Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Montreal Canadiens weren’t the only team to suffer an embarrassing defeat on the weekend. A day after the Habs lost 7-2 to the Colorado Avalanche, the Ottawa Senators fell by the same margin, a 6-1 loss at the hands of the Dallas Stars. It was the first tim...
Montreal Canadiens News and Notes
Nick Suzuki continues to make a strong case for making the Olympic team, but there’s still no guarantee that he’ll snag one of the very few remaining spots. [ Sportsnet ]
Cole Caufield awarded the Molson Cup for the month. [ Canadiens ]
Martin St-Louis continues to hold himself accountable as well as his team. [ TVA Sports | La Presse ]
Samuel Montembeault benefited from a reset. [ Montreal Gazette | The Athletic | La Presse ]
The ca...
NHL Player of the Month: Cole Caufield
After being one of the best teams through October, last month presented the Montreal Canadiens with a large dose of adversity. On November 13, Alex Newhook sustained an ankle injury in a hard crash into the boards. One game later, Kirby Dach’s foot was broken while blocking a shot, knocking out a second member of Montreal’s middle six and forcing a significant shakeup to the lines. While all that was going on, both goaltenders were struggling to make...
Fresh off a hard-fought win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday night in Allentown, the Laval Rocket rolled in to the next stop on a Pennsylvania road trip in Hershey. The Bears, as always, were in the thick of things in a highly competitive Atlantic Division, and were led in scoring by Ilya Protas who had 19 points on the season.
For the Rocket, Pascal Vincent made zero changes to his lineup heading into the Sunday showdown, keeping his lines and defensive pairings the same as Sa...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Juraj Slafkovský is emerging as a dynamic playmaker. [ Jack Han’s Hockey Tactics Newsletter ]
What the road trip revealed about the Canadiens’ roster. [ Journal de Montreal ]
Vladimir Malakhov, now a development coach with the New York Islanders, revealed that the New York Islanders were preparing to select Alexander Zharovsky in the NHL draft until Montreal picked him first. [ RG.org ]
Michael Hage had another productive weekend to maint...
A week after their dominant home-ice wins over the Belleville Senators, including a 7-2 drubbing on Teddy Bear Toss night, the Laval Rocket headed out for their customary post-Thanksgiving trip to the States. It was an important trip for the Rocket as they looked to consolidate their spot at the top of the AHL’s North Division.
While the Rocket were still without Jared Davidson, Florian Xhekaj, and Adam Engström, they received some reinforcements in the form of Joshua Roy and Sammy Blais ...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
“I wouldn’t call these setbacks. I missed some time, but you learn on the other side. You grow as a human. You grow from a kid to a man,” David Reinbacher says of his injury history. [ Montreal Gazette ]
Mike Matheson knows the Canadiens made life too easy on the Colorado Avalanche yesterday, especially on zone entries. [ RDS ]
The Canadiens receive a B- grade for their first quarter of the season. [ The Athletic ]
What are the Canadiens’...
Jayden Struble is out today with an upper-body injury, so Adam Engström will play his second NHL game, paired with Alexandre Carrier.
The Avalanche are wearing Quebec Nordiques jerseys, so expect a bench-clearing brawl at some point today. Montreal should have worn their reds for the matchup. (I think there are several cases where both teams could wear their dark jerseys.
First period
Jakub Dobeš is called upon to make an early tough save off Brock Nelson.
Montreal is d...