Author: Dose

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Eastern standings: only four points separate the Habs from 15th place (Leafs)

The Canadiens de Montréal are currently going through a very difficult sequence, having lost five of their last six games.

Last week, the Habs lost twice in overtime (Flyers and Devils) before a 6-2 victory over Utah on Saturday night, and this week, the Habs have suffered three regular-season setbacks, resulting in zero points.

It’s the Habs’ first tough stretch of the season, so you might think it’s not the end of the world, but when you look at the standings, you realize it could quickly be.

Indeed, with their current sequence, the Habs have slipped to 6th place in the Eastern Conference, even though they still rank first in the Atlantic Division in terms of points percentage.

And when we look at the entire standings, we realize that only four points separate the Habs from the Toronto Maple Leafs, who occupy 15th place in the conference.

(Credit: NHL.com)

That’s just four measly points between the Habs and the bottom of the Eastern Conference cellar.

The Maple Leafs have had a horrible start to the season, which explains their position in the standings, but even so, they’re only four points behind the Canadiens, even though they’ve played one more game.

The standings are therefore extremely tight, with all the teams currently competitive in the East, which means the Habs don’t really have a cushion, especially with their current horrible sequence.

Martin St-Louis’s team must find solutions quickly and get back on the winning track, because if they don’t, the Habs could be in for a very rough ride.

If the Habs rack up another two or three consecutive losses next week, it would come as no surprise if Montreal found itself on the outside looking in at the playoffs, in the Leafs’ place.

In short, the Canadiens need to get their act together as soon as possible to avoid going completely north in the standings.

Overtime

– Interesting.

– Adorable.

– Please note.

– Coming up.

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David Kampf: the Habs have made him an offer, believes Elliotte Friedman

This week, we heard a lot about David Kampf, a Czech center whose contract had just been terminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

According to several sources, the Montreal Canadiens were an interested team, but in the end, the 30-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks.

So the Habs didn’t get their hands on the former Leafs center.

However, just because they didn’t try to acquire him doesn’t mean the Habs didn’t sign David Kampf – quite the contrary.

In fact, according to Elliotte Friedman, Kent Hughes made an offer to Kampf’s clan, but to no avail, as the latter chose Vancouver, where he will have a better role.

Friedman explained last night during his “Staturday Headlines” segment that he really believed the Canadiens had approached Kampf with a real pitch, and this was because of Alex Newhook’s injury.

Losing the services of #15 would have increased Kent Hughes and his team’s modest interest in Kampf, given that a short-term replacement would have helped.

The Habs would have contacted Kampf after learning of the severity of Newhook’s injury, in an attempt to get their hands on a left-handed center with depth.

The fact that Kampf is left-handed was clearly an asset that interested the Habs, even if in the end, Kampf doesn’t represent anything that special, as evidenced by his stats, and his career-best 27-point season.

The former Leaf is a bottom-6 player capable of pulling his weight and playing a good defensive role while winning face-offs.

In short, in the end, the Habs won’t be able to get their hands on Kampf, so they’ll have to find another way to replace Alex Newhook and, above all, improve their team.

The magic effect of the start of the season seems to have worn off, and the team’s shortcomings are showing.

It’s up to Kent Hughes to remedy the situation by acting as quickly as possible.

Overtime

– Read more.

– This is indeed horrible.

– To be continued for those interested.

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The season is a long marathon, and you have to avoid black ice

I’m not a marathon runner. Will never be a marathoner. Have no desire to become a marathoner.

Just the thought of running for 3 hours 45 minutes makes my back, hips, knees, ankles and feet ache.

Talk to a marathon runner for 15 minutes and it’s almost certain they’ll tell you one or more stories about injuries, bad weather, the “wall” at km 25, 35, 40 and so on.

If you ask me, it’s all too much to pay for a dose of endorphin..

But professional NHL field hockey players are paid a lot of money to get through the long marathon that is the regular season.

But that doesn’t mean it’s any easier on the body or the spirit..

Adversity and irresistible sequences

Last season began with a theme of adversity for the Canadiens. As early as training camp, injuries to Laine and Reinbacher quickly cast a dark cloud over the team.

It wasn’t until Laine’s return in early December that the blue skies finally returned. The arrival of Carrier and Dobes also gave the team another boost, which lasted until mid-January.

Then, at the end of January, the team “hit a wall” at the 25th km mark, clawing back just a few points before the 4 Nations break.

On returning from this tournament, Suzuki, perhaps stung in his pride and committed to his manager to lead his club into the playoffs, placed the club on his back for the difficult kilometers 30 to 40.

In the end, the Habs staggered to the finish line with the Blue Jackets gasping for breath.

so 2024-2025 was a roller-coaster marathon.

Will 2025-2026 be any different?

Probably not.

Don’t let the start of the season fool you. It’s as if the Habs were off to a sprint start. But sooner or later, no one can keep up this pace and this spectacular conversion rate in shots on goal.

The Habs are the youngest club in the NHL, and sooner or later, despite a nice dose of talent, it was bound to show, consistency being the main challenge of youth.

Especially if they lose Laine, Guhle and Newhook for long periods along the way.

Especially if, along the way, the goalkeepers’ spirits began to falter.

Especially if the foot of the Suzuki locomotive prevents them from going full steam ahead.

But the sun will come out..

Will it be against Boston?

Not so sure… We’ll see!

Who will you become, Juraj Slafkovsky?

Although he’s only 21, it’s only natural to expect pretty big things from Juraj Slafkovsky in his fourth NHL season.

Slafkovsky himself expects great things from him.

In general, Slaf has played pretty well so far this season. He is one of the main reasons for the impressive statistics of his two line mates.

Having been a little luckier here and there, he could himself have a few more goals and especially a few more assists on the scoreboard.

But as I always say to my 9-year-old son when we’re playing Monopoly: “What’s luck doing, my good fellow? That’s right, it’s spinning!

So, apart from a few less convincing outings, Slaf generally plays quite well and will sooner or later take advantage of more favorable leaps. All he has to do is stay in the right places.

So, the season is still young, but we still haven’t seen the great Slovakian blossom, as was the case in Anaheim with Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier.

Simon “Snake” Boisvert would even be willing to trade Gauthier for Slaf these days..

True, Gauthier, the 5th overall pick in 2022, four spots behind Slafkovsky, seems to have a scoring touch that the big #20 hasn’t yet shown us on a regular basis..

We’ll also see if Slaf, better than Tage Thompson at the same age, can continue to develop offensively enough to one day enjoy seasons of 40+ goals and close to 90 pts…

But everyone would take a 65-70 pts Slaf, consistent in his effort and “hard to play against”.

Sounds like a realistic target to me.

An opportunity for Dach? A reason to move quickly?

Newhook’s injury will undoubtedly lead to a reshuffling of the forwards.

Of the lot, the “new Kirby Dach”, lighter, faster and gradually regaining his confidence, could get a great opportunity alongside Demidov, perhaps replacing Newhook.

But one way or another, he’s one of those who’ll get more playing time, currently averaging 14 minutes per game.

Nick Suzuki could also benefit from a little more support from the Albertan. He won’t be able to play much longer than 22 minutes per game with a banged-up foot..

But the big question of course is: will Dach be able to run a full marathon for the first time in his career, or will he break again around the halfway mark?

Betting on Kirby Dach isn’t the safest bet in town..

Come to think of it, in the wake of Newhook’s injury, should in-house solutions prove ineffective (Dach, Kapanen, Veleno, F. Xhekaj, Davidson, etc.) Hughes may have no choice but to make a phone call to his counterparts in Nashville, Calgary and St. Louis to avoid a dangerous slide in the standings before the holidays…in this black ice season hated by marathoners.

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0 in 17 in their last five games: the Habs’ current A.N. is ruining their good start to the season

The Canadiens suffered their third consecutive defeat last night, losing 3-2 to the Boston Bruins.

The Habs have failed to win a single game this week, even though they’ve played three games at home and the Bell Centre was considered a fortress not so long ago.

Worst of all, the Habs scored just three goals in three games, while allowing 15.

Three goals in three games is really pathetic, especially for a very talented forward who seemed perfect until recently, and who always seemed to be able to find a way to produce.

There’s nothing working offensively (or defensively, or in front of the net) for the Habs anymore, and it looks even worse on the powerplay.

Martin St-Louis’s five-man forward line has run out of steam, and in the last five games, the Habs are 0 for 17.

It’s a horrific statistic that shows just how much the Habs have been shooting themselves in the foot for the past few games, and more importantly, it goes a long way to explaining their losing streak.

The Habs have enjoyed a host of chances on the N.A., but have never taken advantage of them, even in crucial moments that could have changed the course of many, if not all, games.

Last night, the Habs had two five-on-threes lasting over a minute, but couldn’t capitalize, and worse still, couldn‘ t get a shot on net on one of them.

It’s simply awful, and it’s clearly what sank the Habs last night, when, with only one goal on seven chances, they at least sent the game into overtime.

Things have changed drastically for the Habs, who just two weeks ago had one of the best powerplays in the NHL since the addition of Ivan Demidov in the first wave.

Since then, the Ivan Demidov effect has faded, with the Habs’ quintet trying too hard to find the perfect play and simply forgetting to shoot and send pucks to the net.

The Habs try to make fancy plays, but don’t generate anything concrete, and don’t put a player in front of the goalie to impede his vision.

It’s obvious that the Habs’ five players want things to work too much, which leads to mental errors and sticks that are too tight.

It’s a real shame, then, because we finally thought the Habs had become a powerhouse on the powerplay, but in the end, we’re back to square one.

And it’s especially frustrating, because it’s been the same story for several years now, since the arrival of new management and the arrival of Martin St-Louis.

Since St-Louis took the helm on Feb. 9th 2021, the Habs’ powerplay efficiency ranks 31st in the entire NHL.

A revealing statistic that shows how the Canadiens have never had a good powerplay since the change of direction.

Only twice in this sequence has the Habs had success on the power play, and both times have now faded: the Patrik Laine effect last season, and the Ivan Demidov effect this season.

It takes drastic improvement and imminent change, because the Habs’ opponents adapt far too quickly to the Habs’ good sequences.

It’s up to Martin St-Louis to find one or more concrete solutions that will hold up over the long term.

Overtime

– Not to be missed today.

– One of the top prospects in the upcoming draft, Keaton Verhoeff, was a goalie until he was 12, before becoming a defenseman. [RG Media].

– Quite the opposite of the Habs.

– It’s a no-brainer.

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Here are the trios in practice following Alex Newhook’s injury

The Canadiens de Montréal held a practice this morning at the Bell Centre in preparation for tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins at 7pm.

It was the first practice with all the players since Thursday’s heavy 7-0 loss to the Dallas Stars and Alex Newhook’s sad injury.

We were therefore keeping a close eye on what the forward trios would look like in Newhook’s absence.

Well, here’s what the Canadiens’ four trios now look like, with the addition of Jared Davidson, freshly recalled from the Laval Rocket.

The first thing you notice when you look at these trios is that Kirby Dach was chosen as Alex Newhook’s replacement, not Zachary Bolduc.

Martin St-Louis preferred to promote Dach to the center of the second line with Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen, rather than give Bolduc a chance on the wing in the top-6.

St-Louis clearly went partly on merit, given that Dach has been having a good time recently, while Bolduc is going through a very difficult time.

Jared Davidson will make his NHL debut in the company of Joe Veleno and Brendan Gallagher. Veleno will play center for the first time this season.

Veleno will be separated from Jake Evans and Josh Anderson for the first time in five games, as Bolduc will now play with the two veterans.

In a way, then, Bolduc has been demoted, despite Newhook’s injury.

That really speaks volumes, so the message is very clear for the Québécois that he needs to show a lot more to earn a promotion.

On defense, nothing has changed in the pairings, and in front of the net, it’s Samuel Montembeault who will protect the Habs’ cage.

In short, I can’t wait to see how the Habs react after two tough losses, and I can’t wait to see Jared Davidson play his first NHL game either.

He’s an intriguing player who’s undergone excellent development, and could surprise us as early as tonight.

Overtime

– A simply horrible gesture.

– Happy birthday to Justin Barron.

– Don’t miss. Félix defeated Zverev to advance to the semi-finals.

– Wow. Very original deke.

– Zuccarello isn’t getting any younger.

– Read more.

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Top-5: Leafs fall below .500 with 5th straight loss

After a quiet Friday, there was the usual big Saturday in the National Hockey League, with 13 games on the schedule.

So there was plenty of action, with a few standouts.

Here they are.

1. Leafs fall below .500

Things aren’t going well in Toronto right now, as the Maple Leafs suffered their fifth consecutive defeat yesterday, losing 3-2 in regulation time to the Blackhawks in Chicago.

Colton Dach scored the winning goal for the Hawks with only minutes left in the game.

And not only is it a fifth straight loss for the Leafs, it’s also one that takes them below .500.

Toronto is now 8-9-2 after 19 games, putting Craig Berube’s team in 15th place in the Eastern Conference, with only the Buffalo Sabres behind them.

The Sabres are two points behind and have a game in hand on the Leafs.

In short, things are going very badly for Toronto, and the loss of Mitch Marner is being felt more than ever, given that it’s been a long time since the Leafs found themselves in such a situation.

We were used to seeing the Leafs at the top of the table throughout the regular season, but now a poor start to the season has put them in a bit of hot water.

2. Tage Thompson makes two superb plays against the Wings

Here’s one we’ve heard a lot about in recent days, given that his name has been linked to the Montreal Canadiens.

Thompson is all about hockey, and he proved it yesterday with two magnificent sequences in the Buffalo Sabres’ 5-4 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings.

First, Thompson scored a superb goal, carrying the puck from one end of the rink to the other.

And then, in overtime, Thompson went all out, tackling the Wings defenseman hard to retrieve the puck for Mattias Samuelsson, who gave the Sabres the win.

In short, two superb games from Thompson, proving once again just what a hockey player he is.

He now has 16 points, including eight goals, in 18 games.

3. Jason Robertson scores a hat-trick

After scoring two goals at the Bell Centre on Thursday in the Habs’ shocking 7-0 defeat, Jason Robertson continued his fine form last night with a hat trick.

The Dallas Stars forward scored three goals in a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Robertson now has nine points in his last three games, giving him a total of 23 points, including nine goals, in 19 games.

4. A first NHL goal for Braeden Bowman

I don’t know about you, but it seems like the Vegas Golden Knights always come up with new players out of nowhere.

And not only are they unknown, they become good hockey players, like Pavel Dorofeyev.

Well, last night, a new unknown player scored his first NHL goal in his 2nd career game.

I’m talking about Braeden Bowman, a 22-year-old Canadian right-winger who was never drafted.

Bowman scored his powerplay goal on the Golden Knights’ first unit, and it turned out to be the winning goal in the Knights’ 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.

5. Three points for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl

Things are quietly picking up for the Edmonton Oilers, and with them Connor McDavid’s climb back up the NHL scoring charts.

Last night, McDavid, along with Leon Draisaitl, scored three points in a 4-3 overtime win over the Carolina Huricanes.

With his three points, McDavid now ranks 2nd among NHL scorers with 30 points, including nine goals, in 20 games, putting him just three points behind Nathan MacKinnon and his 33 points at the top.

Extra time

– Here are all yesterday’s results.

– Here are yesterday’s top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today’s NHL schedule: five games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
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Fifth defeat in six games for the Habs

The Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins faced off in a Saturday night game.

The two teams were playing their 765th meeting in history.

Here’s the Habs line-up for the duel.

Alex Newhook will be out for several weeks, so Jared Davidson took his place in the lineup.

Kirby Dach replaced Newhook on the second line alongside Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen.

Samuel Montembeault was given the task of slowing down the Boston Bruins.

Generally speaking, this season at least, Saturday night games were quite exciting, especially when it came to the physical aspect.

It’s fair to say that both teams were quick to set the tone for the match.

Two fights broke out in the first four minutes of play, including one at the very start.

It was following these fights that both teams began to play some great hockey.

The Bruins opened the scoring a few minutes after the two fights. David Pastrnak completely fooled Montembeault, who thought the elite marksman was going to draw on the catch. However, he made a deke of the shot and passed it to Marat Khusnutdinov, who had a gaping cage.

A total of five penalties were awarded in the first twenty minutes. No goals were scored on the powerplay in the first period (despite a five-on-three advantage for the Habs), but Jake Evans did tie the game on the short-handed.

Evans took advantage of a two-on-one situation to thread the needle with a perfect shot.

After twenty minutes of play, the score was 1-1.

The Bruins wasted no time in the second period, however, as Mason Lohrei gave his team the lead with a shot from the point .

Midway through the 2nd period, the Habs took advantage of another five-on-three. But once again, it didn’t pay off.

Immediately after this five-on-three, the Habs took advantage of another powerplay. The hallmark of this massive attack, unfortunately, was Noah Dobson’s inbound shot blocked by Charlie McAvoy’s chin. It should also be pointed out that Dobson has an extremely powerful shot.

He collapsed immediately, blood pouring down the rink. A scene you never want to see… He obviously retreated to the dressing room for prompt medical attention.

He was transferred to a hospital near the Bell Centre for treatment.

Juraj Slafkovsky took a bad penalty in attacking territory with minutes left in the second period, leading to a Bruins goal.

Viktor Arvidsson scored his 200th career goal.

Fortunately for the Habs, Cole Caufield took advantage of a breakaway to cut the deficit to one goal.

After the second period, the score was 3-2 in favor of the Bruins.

The final period was hotly contested, with good scoring opportunities on both sides.

Samuel Montembeault held the fort with some big saves.

The Habs were unable to tie the game, however, and the Bruins passed the Habs in the standings. Final score: 3-2 Bruins.

The Habs’ next game is Monday night, when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Extension

– With Newhook’s injury, the second wave of the powerplay needed a replacement. For the remainder of the last game against the Dallas Stars, we saw Joe Veleno take Newhook’s place, but let’s just say it’s not ideal, since Veleno hasn’t collected a single point so far. Kapanen was present on this second wave on a few occasions.

– At the start of the game, Juraj Slafkovsky was still on the first wave, but we saw Dobson take his place as the game progressed. On the second wave, however, we still didn’t see Slafkovsky, while Hutson was present on both waves, as was Suzuki. We also saw Brendan Gallagher on the 2nd wave.

– In a game like this, Slafkovsky had to stand up and play intimidatingly. He looked soft and this was clearly not his best game, far from it. That’s probably why Martin St-Louis took him off the powerplay, even though Slaf is the Habs’ leading powerplay scorer this season.

– As usual, Alexandre Carrier and Mike Matheson blocked several shots to help the club. However, there was a surprise for the Habs in the blocked shots column. Lane Hutson blocked three shots in the game. Matheson and Carrier blocked four shots. Hutson was the Habs’ most-used player.

– Towards the middle of the final period, the Habs found themselves short-handed. The Bruins had several quality chances, but Montembeault was very solid.

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Tim Thomas and his bunker: Jonathan Huberdeau reveals more about the former goalie

Tim Thomas was certainly one of the finest goalkeepers of his generation. He was not, however, the most “classic” goalie in terms of technique.

The fact remains that he marked a generation and was a very important player for the Bruins, especially during their conquest in 2011. That season, he won both the Vézina Trophy and the Conn-Smythe (awarded to the playoff MVP).

In short, although we know him as a goalie through and through, we understand that he was a real “bugaboo” thanks to Jonathan Huberdeau. Huberdeau shared some very interesting anecdotes during his appearance on the Drete su’l tape podcast . They were teammates with the Florida Panthers in 2013-14.

In the podcast excerpt below, Huberdeau mentions that Thomas was ready for anything, as he had his own bunker in the Colorado corner.

Well, there are (and always will be) people preparing for the end of the world. As the saying goes: Prevention is better than cure.

However, Huberdeau had some unusual facts about Thomas.

The Québécois also said that on the eve of a game, Thomas would eat a hamburger. Now, that’s hardly common among NHL players. It must have paid off for the former goaltender, who enjoyed an excellent career.

Huberdeau also added that, at one point, he went out to eat with Thomas, who told him: “You’ve got to eat a burger”.

Despite this, Thomas wasn’t out of shape; he showed up for every practice (wearing his old-school helmet). He was always in shape, except at one point in his career, when he arrived at the Panthers’ camp in 2013 after his sabbatical year.

According to Huberdeau, the legendary goalie arrived at camp with a beer belly. Can’t say we blame him, though, since he took the year off to spend time with his family and to get away from the NHL’s very demanding physical and mental requirements.

You learn something new about NHL players every day.

Overtime

– It’s off to a good start for the Rocket.

– These would be great additions for the Leafs.

– He’s on track for his best goalscoring season ever.

– Things aren’t just heating up in Montreal, they’re heating up in Florida too.

– Pretty cute.

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Jayden Strube and Arber Xhekaj throw in the gloves early on

The Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins crossed swords on Saturday evening in an important duel for the Atlantic summit.

Let’s just say that both teams wasted no time in lighting up the crowd.

Jayden Struble and giant Nikita Zadorov threw down the gloves on the first face-off of the game.

Zadorov is quite intimidating at 6 feet, 7 inches and 255 pounds. Struble did well, though. Struble already has four fights under his belt this season (including preseason matches). It’s fair to say that Struble doesn’t choose the easiest clients.

The two teams didn’t want to stop there. After back-to-back big checks from both sides, Arber Xhekaj and Tanner Jeannot also threw down the gloves minutes after Struble’s fight.

For a rare occasion, Arber Xhekaj lost the fight when he went down after a Jeannot blow.

Definitely a physically demanding match. Both teams traded hard-hitting body checks, and it quickly set the tone for the match.

Even a few minutes after Xhekaj’s fight, there was a big scrum following a stoppage in play and a lot of rififis took place. No other fights broke out during this melee, but some big words were traded.

More details to come…

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David Kämpf signs one-year contract with Vancouver

In recent days, David Kämpf’s name has been the talk of Montreal. The club was looking for a left-handed center, and with Alex Newhook injured, they were also looking for a player capable of helping out on the power play.

And Kämpf ticked both these boxes.

With his contract terminated in Toronto, Kämpf was now free as a bird and expected to sign a contract by tomorrow.

In the end, however, he made his decision this evening: he will continue his career with Vancouver.

He signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract.

More details to come…