Author: Dose

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According to Luc Gélinas, the Habs played to avoid injury last night

Last night,the Canadiens were beaten 7-2 by the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was a tough night for the Habs from every point of view, especially as they fielded a number of veterans, including the players in the first two lines, while the Leafs had mostly support players and prospects. The second line of Patrik Laine, Ivan Demidov and Kirby Dach, playing their first game of camp, had a particularly tough night, with all three forwards at minus-3.

According to Luc Gélinas, who appeared on Le Retour, the Habs players, particularly the veterans, played to avoid injury, which explains the general lack of effort we saw last night.

[content-ads] And it’s understandable that in a no-stakes game against a team with a line-up closer to the AHL than the NHL, the players aren’t going to give their all on the ice. Especially since the memory of last year’s warm-up game against these same Leafs is still fresh, when Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher both suffered serious knee injuries.

Unfortunately, even though the Habs tried to play it safe in last night’s game, they lost the services of Reinbacher, who fractured his hand and will miss a month, and Noah Dobson, who injured his groin and is day-to-day.

Add Kaiden Guhle, who also injured his groin during morning practice and should also be back in action soon, and it’s a worrying situation for the Canadiens. The problem is that when you play to avoid injury, you change the way you play. Players start to think too much, they become stiffer, they put themselves in vulnerable situations and, in the end, get hurt. Not to mention that an athlete who doesn’t want to get hurt risks losing his second lead and is often late to the game. We saw this last night with several Canadiens veterans, but also with Kirby Dach last year.

In short, let’s hope our B-club looks better tomorrow night in Toronto against the Leafs’ best players [spacer title=’En rafale’] – Als ahead at halftime.

Ahead

– A return too soon?

– He’ll be a free agent at the end of next season.

– Lukes adds two runs for the Jays.

– Two-point home run for Judge.

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Injury: David Reinbacher was (really) frustrated last night

Last night’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t exactly have a positive impact on the team’s overall play, not to mention the fact that Kaiden Guhle ultimately sat out the game at the last minute, Noah Dobson left the game after the second period and David Reinbacher will miss a month of action. Lane Hutson exchanged text messages with the Austrian and Reinbacher told him he was very frustrated by the turn of events. But the young American defenseman reassured fans that Reinbacher is more motivated than ever to come back strong. Reinbacher wants to fight to get back healthy and help the organization as soon as possible.

[content-ads]All this was said during today’s press briefing. Indeed, Reinbacher’s situation is extremely frustrating. He has suffered a number of injuries in his young career, some of them quite serious. “Fortunately”, he can content himself lucky that his knee was not the reason for his most recent injury, as his future would certainly have been much more in jeopardy. A fractured bone in the hand is never forgiving, but it’s much easier to come back to 100% than to aggravate a knee again.

But to know that the Austrian is even more motivated than ever to come back healthy and prove that he deserved to be selected 5th overall is very encouraging. Hutson also mentioned that #64 has made a lot of progress and that it showed in his game during training camp. Even if Reinbacher hasn’t been electrifying, it’s not in his habit to steal the show anyway. Hutson and Ivan Demidov are there to make the flashy plays;Reino is there to play efficiently and simply, bringing solidity in many facets. Let’s give him time to get the go-ahead from the doctors, and let’s hope he can play the rest of the season with the Laval Rocket and help the club compete. Onceagain, we’llhave to be patient.[spacer title=’Overtime’] – Tough break for the Panthers… Seven to nine months out for Barkov…

– Guy Carbonneau surprised Grant McCagg in the latest episode of his podcast with Liam McGuire.

– The Davis Alexander effect changes everything for the Alouettes.

– No, but… What a touchdown pass from Davis Alexander.

– He just won’t stop this one.

– Jake Allen paid tribute to Martin Brodeur with his new helmet. [HabsolumentFan]

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Patrik Laine confirms: several guys were asleep yesterday… including him!

A few days ago, Patrik Laine promised that we would see“the best version of Patrik Laine” this season. This was in response to his coach, who had said that we could possibly see the best version of his player this season. But after two preparatory games, we have to admit that this is not the case. I know, I know: they’re only preparatory games. Of course ,Laine scored yesterday on the powerplay, and that’s his #1 job. But apart from those few seconds, it was difficult for his line, which wasn’t facing the most formidable opposition. A snowball’s chance of survival in hell is becoming more and more of a statement for this trio. .. In reality, it was clear that his line had no intention of playing on 200 feet, and that’s a problem. It’s all very well for Laine to use the “I’m going to be more than frank with the media” method again, claiming that several guys – including himself – were asleep on the ice yesterday, but he’ll have to put his money where his mouth is. It

The fact that the Habs lost isn’t the biggest problem with yesterday’s game: it’s the way the club played that is. It’s the fact that, for the first time in camp, Martin St-Louis didn’t feel his club moving forward. That’s the problem.

[content-ads]But obviously, Laine isn’t the only guy who needs to be mentioned when talking about yesterday’s game. There are many elements to take into account, so what are they? 1. Let’s start with the positive. Martin St-Louis named the two players who impressed him most yesterday. Mike Matheson(whom I praised last night) is one. The other? Filip Mesar, who is having a good camp. He’ll have to start well in Laval to hope for a recall, but at the moment, we have to admit he’s doing what he has to do.

2. After a superb first preparatory game, Samuel Montembeault escaped yesterday. He gave up five goals on his first 12 shots… while his defense just abandoned him. Jacob Fowler (he was scheduled to play, by the way) gave up two goals in the third. [content-ads]3. I know a lot of regulars were missing yesterday. But we’ll just have to hope the Habs haven’t picked up where they left off in the fall of 2024, when they took a big beating every five games.No need for that in 2025-2026.4. Joshua Roy hasn’t shown he’s a camp essential. Compared to a Vinzenz Rohrer, for example, he seems to have understood his role less, andRoy hasn’t earned any points compared to the likes of Owen Beck or Florian Xhekaj. 5. The first line didn’t do badly and had its chances. Nick Suzuki was responsible for Mike Matheson’s goal… but let’s just say it’s hard to take anything positive from yesterday’s game. Actually, it’s not true: Juraj Slafkovsky is feeling better on the ice.

[content-ads]6. Kirby Dach’s knee has obviously held up. And if we’re going to continue giving positive feedback on the top-6, we have to note Ivan Demidov’s hands.What a player, for real.

7. Michael Pezzetta understands that in Toronto, his role will be to stir up (as was the case here, obviously) the shack. How many games will he play in 2025-2026? [spacer title=’prolongation’]At 10 a.m. this morning, there’ll be a practice. How angry will the coach be? What elements will be practiced for tomorrow night’s game in Toronto? Answers soon.

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Fracture: David Reinbacher will miss four weeks of activity

David Reinbacher’s knee was not injured, but he will miss four weeks of activity due to a fractured metacarpal bone. However, the defenseman will miss four weeks of activity due to a broken metacarpal bone. It’s in the hand, that.

So, once again, the defenseman will miss the start of the Laval Rocket’s season. It’s not exactly ideal for his development, but at least it’s not his knee. And in a month’s time, there will only be seven games played in Laval.All indications are that it was in the third period yesterday, during the game against the Maple Leafs (them again…), that Reinbacher was injured. After all, he played in the third period and didn’t finish the game. Did he injure himself on that sequence?

This means that Adam Engstrom becomes the first option in the event of a recall of a youngster to Laval at the start of the season. Is the Austrian starting to worry you in terms of his general state of health? The question arises, even if we’re not talking about a recurring injury situation this morning for the right-handed defender. Reinbacher was the most worrying case among Noah Dobson and Kaiden Guhle. So, it’s safe to assume that both Habs defensemen will be back soon… To be seen. [spacer title=’Overtime’]- CF Montreal fans,

– Interesting.

– James Reimer: tryout in Toronto.

– Interesting.

– Nice.

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Practice: Marc-André Fleury breaks out his yellow leggings (and steals a goal from Sidney Crosby)

It was a big day at Penguins training camp today. The club jumped on the ice this morning… and it was a newcomer to the camp who stole the show : a Québécois goaltender named Marc-André Fleury.And this, even though he has no chance of making the club, hehe.So today was Flower’ s big return to Pittsburgh… and unsurprisingly, there were a lot of people at training this morning. and to no one’s surprise, there were a lot of people at practice this morning. And obviously, Fleury wanted to surprise his fans: for the occasion, the Québécois brought out his good old yellow pads.He wore them at the start of his career, and he took the opportunity to dust them off.

[content-ads]And clearly, the goalie wanted to put on a show this morning. We saw him face Sidney Crosby on the ice… and Fleury made a spectacular save against the captain (who scored on the return).He’s still got it in the tank, hehe

But in addition to the goalie, there was someone else who stole the show at Penguins practice this morning: his own son, who clearly learned from the father.And I’m not talking about his skills in net, I’m talking about his skills as a trick player.

Clearly, then, the mood is good in the Penguins camp today. Fleury’s return pleased his teammates, but also the fans on hand.Remember that he’ll be playing in his team’s warm-up game tomorrow: he won’t be in uniform tonight against the Red Wings.[spacer title=’Overtime’]- I love it.

– Nice sequence.

– For all you need to know about the playoff race in MLB, whose season ends this weekend.

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Lane Hutson: Zachary Bolduc is the player who impresses him most at camp

The Montreal Canadiens’ current training camp has had its ups and downs, as it always does. Last night’s loss to the Maple Leafs may be considered a low for everyone, but there have also been some pleasant surprises. Vinzenz Rohrer is one, and there’s also a newcomer to the Habs who’s doing very well. Lane Hutson recently talked about the player who’s impressed him most this practice camp: Zachary Bolduc. And it’s hard not to agree with the young defenseman. And as Anthony Martineau mentioned in the tweet below, it clearly won’t be long before we see #76 in the top-6 this season.

[content-ads]Bolduc is definitely making a big impression so far. Bolduc can certainly bring a lot to the Montreal club. Playing for the Habs as a Québécois can be a double-edged sword, but from what we’ve seen, it doesn’t seem to affect him too negatively. # To start the year, he should be employed on the second wave of the powerplay in the bumper position in which he was so successful in St. Louis. His shot is lightning-quick and he also knows how to distribute checks, recording 108 last season. He would have been 7th on the Canadiens last year, even if it’s not his main asset, and seeing how Ivan Demidov has performed with Patrik Laine and Kirby Dach, some people think we could scrape up his talent. And I particularly agree with that statement. Laine isn’t the one with the best work ethic, and I fear for Demidov’s future if he plays mostly with the Finn, but if the Russian plays with Bolduc, he could very possibly be successful, since Bolduc can put it in and Demidov can certainly put it on the palette of any of his teammates.

In short, Bolduc has shown great promise so far, and he has all the tools he needs to succeed in Montreal, especially if he can play with Demidov at his side. Overtime] – Indeed, no one can fit into Barkov’s shoes (or skates).

– Fleury jokes when he tells young goaltender Sergei Murashov that he’s there to take his place. A real comedian.

– Very interesting. Could this be Panarin’s last season with the Rangers?

– Gallagher isn’t too worried about the dismal loss to the Leafs.

– Marc-André Perreault explains why he left the police force to return to the media. His children are the main reason. [HabsolumentFan]

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Samuel Montembeault: a top-5 NHL goalie, according to (the model of) The Athletic

In 2025-26, Samuel Montembeault will play his fifth season with the Canadiens. The Québécois came to town unexpectedly via the waivers… and established himself as the club’s #1 goaltender during its rebuild. And today, as the club turns the corner, he’s still going strong as a starter.And yet,earlier today, The Athletic published its portrait of the Habs for the 2025-26 season. The weakness of the center line and the solid defensive brigade are topics of discussion… but Monty ‘s case is also getting a lot of attention.Because, according to the site’s statistical model, Montembeault is seen as one of the NHL’s top five goaltenders,nothing less.Nothing less.

[content-ads]The authors of the text justify all this by saying that Montembeault is among the league’s elite in terms of saves made above what is expected. What this means, concretely, is that the Québécois steals many, many goals compared to what’s expected of him (based on the quality of shots he faces).Malicious tongues will say that it didn’t really show last night against the Maple Leafs’ C-team (and that’s not untrue)… although earlier this week, we saw a better example of all this against the Penguins.

The Athletic ‘s authors also point out that across the league, other teams (who have their own private data) see Monty more as a goalie somewhere between 10th and 15th, so they qualify their assessment a bit. But according to the site’s data, Monty is seen as a top-5 guy:

His ability to save his team is seriously underrated – The Athletic

We’ve seen it over the past few years: Montembeault is capable of stealing games. Andfor a club that relies on a young (albeit talented) defensive brigade, it’s reassuring to have such a goalie in front of the net.[spacer title=’Overtime’]- It’s true.

– Your prediction?

– Alek Manoah goes Atlanta,

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“If Ivan Demidov plays with Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine, we’ll scrape him off the floor”

So far, the line-up of Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach and Ivan Demidov isn’t exactly a hit with the Canadiens camp. Yesterday, for example, the three guys were together in a game for the first time… and they came up big.Granted, the whole club didn’t have a great night, but these three weren’t part of the solution either. Except on the powerplay (for Demidov and Laine), that is.

We know that the three guys aren’t expected to play tomorrow (Martin St-Louis confirmed this at a press briefing), but there are still big questions about the future of this line. And Georges Laraque, on BPM Sports, had a lot to say about this line today:

If Demidov plays with Dach and Laine, we’ll scrap him.

–

Georges Laraque

[content-ads]In Laraque’s eyes, it’s illogical to think that these three guys will be able to achieve success. The chemistry just isn’t there… and he finds it hard to see Demidov scoring 60 points and winning the Calder if he’s playing with Laine and Dach all year.And in reality, we can understand his point… except that the sample (one game) may be a little thin for me to come to that conclusion. One game (in which the guys didn’t give 100%) isn’t nearly enough to establish real chemistry, you know.That said, there’s one thing that does beg the question: the fact that Zachary Bolduc is really winning points in town at the moment.Lane Hutson gave him a big dose of love today.

In the event that Laine blows it and Bolduc has a great start to the season, it’ll be hard for the club not to try and stir the pot by swapping the two guys. I’d say the same goes for Dach… but I doubt anyone would want to use Bolduc at center full-time.Except that if Laine can ever get his mojo back, he has the potential to transform the club. I’m not saying it’s going to happen (or even that it’s likely to happen), but the Canadiens have to at least give him the time to try and make it happen.And giving him a month or two to get there, I don’t see how that could really jeopardize Demidov’s future.

[spacer title=’Overtime’]-

– It’s understandable, hehe.

– I like that.

– Logic.

– A beautiful moment for the Strome family.

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Injury to Aleksander Barkov: the Canadiens open up in the Atlantic

This morning, we got some big news from Florida: Aleksander Barkov’s season may already be over. The Panthers’ captain has undergone surgery on his right knee… and we’re (really) fearing the worst.It hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, but there’s no smoke without fire.That said, one thing is clear: Barkov will miss at least a large part of the season. For the Panthers, this is a (very) hard blow… especially as the club will also be without Matthew Tkachuk for the first few months of the season. Suddenly, then, we realize that the Atlantic is starting to open up… and that there may be a spot up for grabs for the Canadiens.Because however good the club is at facing adversity, we’re talking about two big losses.

[content-ads]We saw it last year: when Tkachuk was absent, the Panthers struggled to win games consistently. If Barkov is out as well, it’s logical to think that the Panthers could be in for a tough start to the season.Unless the guys rally to play for their captain… or get some reinforcements from the outside.And all of a sudden, you have to wonder if Barkov’s injury, should it keep him out for the whole year (including the playoffs), opens the door to the arrival of a big name in Florida: Sidney Crosby.

Because salary-wise, it would work: Barkov’s $10m could be placed on the long-term injured list, opening the door to adding Crosby’s $8.7m to the payroll.

[content-ads]But what’s clear is that none of this is likely to happen right at the start of the season. It’s safe to assume that the Panthers will be knocking on Jack Roslovic’s door as a transition option… and it’s possible that despite everything, the club won’t have a great start to the season.If the Canadiens are able, unlike last year, to have a big start to the campaign, they’ll give themselves a chance of finishing in the top-3 of their division.

And let’s not forget that, in a worst-case scenario in Florida, the club has no interest in trying to get Gavin McKenna: the Panthers’ first-round pick belongs to the Blackhawks and is unprotected.

Expect the Panthers to be aggressive, then… although it could come later in the year.

[spacer title=’Overtime’]- Today’s NHL toss-ups.

–

– Interesting.

– I love it.

– Still!

– Where will he play next year?

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Patrik Laine didn’t convince me, part 2

On Tuesday morning, I wrote a text entitled ” Patrik Laine hasn’t convinced me“, inwhich many of you called me names, questioned my credibility, my intentions, my knowledge and so on. Except I’m going to tell you a secret this lunchtime: Patrik Laine didn’t convince me last night either. The Maple Leafs Marlies line-up was of very average quality – and I’m being kind – and the game was being played at the Bell Centre, in front of thousands of fans sold out in advance. We were entitled to expect Patrik Laine to be even slightly better than the man who finished Monday’s game on the breaks. Yes, Laine scored a power-play goal on a superb pass from Ivan Demidov, but he also finished the game at minus-3, being quite invisible at five-on-five.

Martin St-Louis wasn’t the only one who didn’t have a great game with his second line; quite a few Habs fans could see a cohesion and involvement that was lacking in Laine, Dach and Demidov. No, they didn’t feel a sense of urgency last night, when even in preseason, we’re entitled to expect a minimum of general involvement.

Patrik Laine doesn’t look any different from last season.(Credit: YouTube/capture d’écran)

[content-ads]Offensive players must also come to defend when they don’t have the puck, as the Canadiens’ head coach often repeats. Especially when you’re making $9.1 million this year…Laine told us a few days ago that we’d be able to see the best version of himself this season. If what I saw on Monday and Thursday was the best version of Laine, then there’s something wrong. I’m not looking forward to the worst

I’m already wondering when Zachary Bolduc will be called upon to replace Laine – or Dach – alongside Demidov on the second line. It could go fast…[content-ads]Except you know what I’m not wondering? What salary Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton will offer Patrik Laine to convince him to sign a new contract with the Montreal club. Right now, I don’t see how the Montreal management can say to themselves: we see this guy with the team for the long term. Especially since, in terms of culture, seeing a guy like Laine on your second line, with your nugget on the other wing, just doesn’t cut it…Here’s hoping the Finnish forward gives the team more when the regular schedule kicks in. If Laine doesn’t improve and he’s paired with Demidov on the second line, it could cost the Habs a playoff spot. Expecting the guy who was like that in Winnipeg, Columbus and last year in Montreal to change was a bit utopian, wasn’t it?