Author: Dose

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Habs trios: Tony Marinaro calls McDonald’s for help

This morning saw some changes in the Canadiens’ line-up. Alex Newhook’s injury forced the hand of Martin St-Louis, who will try out new combinations.

The first line remains unchanged, without too many surprises. But for the other three, it’s a different story.

Even so, it’s clear that the club is currently struggling to find the right combinations beyond the first line. And to help the club, Tony Marinaro had an idea.

During his Sick Podcast (in French), Marinaro wanted to call in some trio experts to help the club.

And that’s why, in the middle of the show, he called… McDonald’s.

Marinaro asked the person on the other end of the line (Frank) if he had multiple threesomes, to which he was told yes. And when asked what the purpose of the call was, Marinaro simply replied that he wants to try to help the Habs form good trios.

It made for some great podcast radio.

We know Marinaro is a regular at these moments, and the flash is good under the current circumstances. Especially since, at the very end, Frank admits he doesn’t know Marinaro… which doesn’t exactly make the host happy.

Once again, good entertainment.

We’ll see if the trios in tonight’s game can help the Habs get back to winning ways… otherwise, the club might really have to try talking to McDonald’s to try and find some good trios.

But then again, McDonald’s and the Habs haven’t been a very successful partnership so far this season… #SamuelMontembeault

Overtime

– Alex Newhook: Martin St-Louis, who suffered a similar injury during his career, wants to help.

– Big night ahead.

– Ryan O’Reilly: playing for the Canucks doesn’t really interest him.

– Good point.

– Big win for the Carabins.

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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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Two months away: here’s how Jack Hughes cut his hand during a team dinner

Yesterday afternoon, we learned that Jack Hughes had injured his hand. But what was special about this injury was that it was sustained… at a team dinner.

He suffered a cut on his hand, and it was described as a “freak” accident.

The Devils announced this afternoon that their star player has undergone surgery on his finger… and will be sidelined for the next eight weeks. In short, he’ll miss two months.

That said, the club didn’t go into a ton of detail about what actually happened… but we do know a little more about where the cut came from.

In fact, during dinner, Hughes accidentally leaned on some glass, which broke.

As a result, he cut his finger.

Obviously, this is a rather unusual injury. It wasn’t with a knife that he found a way to cut himself (a theory that got people talking last night), but with glass.

And in the end, this unfortunate incident is going to cost him dearly: Hughes is set to miss two months of work, which means he could be out until the middle of January.

What’s interesting is that the Olympics will be coming up very quickly after that… and Team USA’s directors will have to choose the players who will make up their team before Hughes returns. So we have to wonder whether this could possibly open up a position for Cole Caufield within that group.

In short, quite a story in New Jersey, when the club will be without its star player for several weeks. What a freak accident.

In Overtime

– Jeremy Swayman will face the Habs tonight.

– David Kämpf is expected to sign with a new team tomorrow. Three teams (including the Habs?) are said to be finalists.

– What do you think?

– Not wrong.

– Troy Stecher is off to Toronto.

– A name to watch.

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Digital disadvantage: Martin St-Louis’s new plan is not viable in the long term

Yesterday, we learned that the Canadiens would be without the services of Alex Newhook for the next four months. It’s a big loss from the point of view that he played some great hockey this season, but also from the point of view that he had established himself as an important element on the power play.

He was one of those who had to step up after the departure of Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia, and he did.

Finding a way to replace Newhook at 5-on-5 is one thing. Replacing him on the short-handed is quite another.

And this morning, Martin St-Louis talked about his plan to do just that: he intends to rely on Nick Suzuki and Joe Veleno to get the job done.

Except that this plan doesn’t really seem viable in the long term.

Suzuki’s case is probably the most problematic. The captain is more than capable of holding his own one-man short-handed… except that if he has to take on the task of playing shorthanded, his 5-on-5 playing time will have to be reduced… which is really, really not ideal.

All the more so since playing shorthanded adds to his injury burden. He may have the reputation of being a man of iron, but this is a plan to drive him straight into the wall.

Veleno, in fact, seems a more logical choice considering his advanced stats show he’s no villain defensively. That said, overall, it’s been tough for him this season, and we’ve been talking about him as a guy the club would ideally like to get out of the line-up.

He’s kind of the best default option right now (especially since he’s done it in the past), but does it really make sense to be all-in on this? I doubt it.

Either way, the Habs could really afford to use some backup to help the club’s numerical disadvantage. We know the club loves David Kämpf, who could check off quite a few boxes… and who, in the worst-case scenario, will at least serve to squeeze Suzuki out of the numerical disadvantage.

But whether it’s Kämpf or someone else, we’re going to need reinforcements… because right now, options are getting scarce. Above all, they’re not viable in the long term, especially if another of the regulars should fall to the sword.

Overtime

– I like it.

– Touching.

– Interesting.

– This is… special.

– Beautiful news.

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No goals in 17 games: it’s been (really) tough for Brendan Gallagher this year

Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about the Montreal Canadiens.

Of course, the Habs’ two consecutive thaws have come to mind. Then there are the long absences announced today for Kaiden Guhle and Alex Newhook.

One thing is clear: the Habs need more from every player, and that MUST (especially) come from the veterans.

Among the players with mileage in the Montreal line-up, Brendan Gallagher’s name often comes up in relation to his performances: He’s got to give more.

The feisty 33-year-old forward has not scored a single goal in 17 games this season. He has racked up seven assists so far this season, but the fact remains that the veteran needs to find the back of the net to help his team.

Clearly, he’s slowed down and it’s questionable whether he can really give more.

Without taking anything away from Gallagher, who has given more than his all to the organization since his arrival, he simply can’t keep up and it’s painful to watch him go, in the words of Kevin Lefrançois.

The forward made his mark in the NHL by playing with energy and disrupting opponents every time he took to the ice (and scoring goals in the process). We’re not seeing any of that this year.

However, when they say that veterans have to give more, Gally already knows what he had to do in such circumstances. This morning, there was a practice scheduled for 11:30, but he and Jake Evans were on the ice from… 10:00.

Gallagher was mainly working on his technique around the net with the right-handed center.

In short, even if Gallagher isn’t the same player he was in his prime, we know he’ll never stop working, even if his body can’t keep up.

Overtime

– Seems like a small thing, though. Let’s hope he gets better soon.

– Interesting.

– What a shot for the St. Louis Blues rookie.

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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 full practice since Thursday’s heavy 7-0 loss to the Dallas Stars, and since Alex Newhook’s unfortunate 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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Zachary Bolduc: no shots in his last four games

Zachary Bolduc got off to a great start in his first season with the Canadiens, scoring three goals and four points in his first three games.

It was a dream start for the Québécois with the Habs, and we had high hopes for him this season, as we imagined him scoring a ton of goals.

However, since that short, excellent period in the first three games of the season, Bolduc has just one goal and one assist in 14 games.

That’s a meagre output, and it’s especially worrisome when you analyze the totality of Bolduc’s play, which is nothing like what he offered us at the start of the season.

Indeed, the Habs’ #76 is practically invisible during most of his on-ice appearances, which is really worrying for the future.

We thought Bolduc was a big deal, but now his six points in 17 games are more than ordinary, and what’s worse is that he’s not even close to producing these days.

The proof?

Bolduc hasn’t recorded a shot on goal in his last four games.

(Credit: NHL.com)

It’s a statistic that speaks volumes about Bolduc’s current game, and shows just how unconfident the Québécois is.

And what’s even more striking is that, aside from the game against the Devils in New Jersey, Bolduc is enjoying a respectable amount of ice time, enough to allow him to generate offense.

So there’s clearly cause for concern in his case, especially this week, given how bad things are for the Habs.

When things were going well, it wasn’t worth talking about, but now the Habs really need the Québécois to wake up.

Clearly, it’s not ideal for Bolduc to play a supporting role alongside Kirby Dach and Brendan Gallagher, who’ s really coming into his own this season.

But now, with Alex Newhook’s unfortunate long-term injury, a door to the top-6 is opening, and that could greatly help Bolduc.

Even if he doesn’t deserve a promotion, it’s an opportunity the Québécois must seize.

The Habs’ #76 really needs this promotion and a chance to shine, because right now, it’s really hard for him.

Anyway, let’s see who Bolduc plays with tonight, but chances are he’ll play on the wing of Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.

Overtime

– With good reason.

– Not to be missed.

– To watch today.

– Interesting stuff.

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“The (Habs) players aren’t capable of doing basic NHL things.”

The current week for the Montreal Canadiens is worrying in both the short and long term, for a number of reasons.

Even if it’s only two losses in a row, which isn’t dramatic on paper in a season, it’s a truly frightening sequence for the future.

The Habs didn’t just lose, they lost 5-1 and 7-0, in addition to losing the services of one of their best players this season, Alex Newhook.

So it’s clearly worrying, especially when you see how the Habs performed in their two games.

The Habs seemed to be a team capable of standing up to any opponent and keeping any game close, but this week it’s the complete opposite, as we saw a disorganized and dispirited team.

What’s worse is the execution, which is simply atrocious, as the Habs players simply aren’t capable of doing basic NHL things.

That’s what Arpon Basu said on Martin Lemay’s podcast, Le Retour.

Basu was very direct in his comments, explaining that everything is lacking in the Habs right now, and that there’s not much that can be done to remedy the situation.

The Athletic’s sports editor finds it hard to see what Martin St-Louis can do at the moment, given that his players seem completely helpless and, above all, rusty.

Of course, the Habs weren’t going to play 82 near-perfect games and stay in the game night after night, but losses like these are very reminiscent of last season’s losses to the Penguins and Kraken, among others.

And that’s worrying, because we all thought the Habs were somewhere else with what they’d shown us since the start of the campaign.

Martin St-Louis must really be struggling to find answers at the moment, according to Arpon Basu.

“If he was still a peewee coach, I’d understand, but these are NHL guys who lack execution and are rusty” – Arpon Basu

Overtime

– To watch today.

– It’s going to hurt.

– Please note.

– To be continued.

– Incredible.

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Top-4: Matthew Schaefer’s 7th goal gives the Islanders victory in overtime

It was a quiet Friday in the National Hockey League yesterday, with only four games on the schedule.

Even so, there were some great highlights in each of the four games.

Here’s what caught our eye.

1. Matthew Schaefer scores the first overtime goal of his career

In Montreal, of course, Ivan Demidov is widely talked about as an outstanding rookie player, and as a potential winner of the Calder Trophy, awarded to the season’s best rookie.

Across the NHL, however, while Demidov’s name is being bandied about, it’s clearly defenseman Matthew Schaefer’s that’s being echoed everywhere.

The New York Islanders defenseman, drafted first overall in the last NHL Entry Draft, has been nothing short of impressive since the start of the season.

he’s racking up points and playing nearly 23 minutes a game at just 18 years of age.

And last night, Schaefer gave the Islanders a 3-2 win over the Utah Mammoth with his first career goal in overtime.

It’s already Schaefer’s seventh goal of the season, and he now has 15 points in 18 games so far this season.

Remember, he’s only 18 years old, and currently leads all NHL defensemen in goals.

2. Emil Heineman and Jonathan Drouin shine

In the same game, the Islanders’ two goals in regulation time came from two former Montreal Canadiens.

Emil Heineman first opened the scoring in this game with his 8ᵉ goal of the season, which would place him 2nd among Habs scorers.

And secondly, Jonathan Drouin tied the game midway through the third period with a very bizarre and controversial goal.

That’s 14 points, including three goals, in 17 games for Drouin.

In short, the Canadiens’ veterans are doing very well under other skies right now.

3. Two goals for Christian Dvorak

Another Habs alumnus is doing very well with his new team.

Christian Dvorak is currently producing at an impressive rate with the Philadelphia Flyers, compared to his years in Montreal.

Last night, in the Flyers’ 6-5 shootout win over the St. Louis Blues, Dvorak picked up three points, including two goals.

Dvorak now has 12 points, including five goals, in 17 games, a clearly higher pace than he maintained last season with the Habs, when he scored 33 points in 82 games.

4. Filip Forsberg scores in Sweden in front of his home fans

The Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins were in Sweden yesterday for the 2025 NHL Global Series.

It was therefore a special game, and all the more so for the Swedish players from both teams.

In fact, Sweden’s Filip Forsberg scored an extremely important goal in front of his Swedish fans, when he tied the game late in the third period.

It was an electric moment that pushed the game into overtime, where Steven Stamkos played the hero with a beautiful goal.

Extended

– Here are yesterday’s results.

– Here are yesterday’s top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today’s NHL schedule: 13 games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
(Credit: Google/NHL)
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Two points for Michael Hage in crushing win over Penn State

On this Friday evening, Michael Hage and the University of Michigan Wolverines were in action.

For the occasion, they faced Gavin McKenna and Penn State University. Two big teams crossed swords (Michigan was 2nd in the division standings before the game and Penn State was 3rd) and an exciting match-up was in store.

To be exciting, it was, but only on one side.

Penn State fans (and team) clearly didn’t like the game.

The Wolverines gave the Nittany Lions a thrashing. Final score: 7-1.

The clip above shows Michael Hage’s second point of the game on Adam Valentini’s goal.

What many were watching closely in this game was obviously Hage, but also Gavin McKenna on the Penn State side. Without having broken everything, Hage was still his team’s leading scorer (tied with five other players), collecting two points (two assists).

As for Gavin McKenna, he posted a minus-4 differential, and was also wiped off the score sheet…

Here’s the Habs prospect’s first point of the game on a goal by Will Horcoff (Shawn Horcoff’s son).

Hage came very close to collecting three points. The right-hander (who was back at center after a tryout on the wing) missed a golden opportunity and was clearly angry at himself for missing it.

Judging by the final score, he couldn’t have blamed himself for much longer.

Hage finished the game with a plus-1 differential, which may seem surprising in a convincing win like this. However, his second assist of the game came on the powerplay.

Following this game, the Habs prospect now has 19 points in 13 games, tied for second in the entire NCAA (excluding the evening’s other results).

In short, everything’s going swimmingly for Hage, and that’s very encouraging for the Habs, as there’s a lot of hope that he’ll (eventually) be the famous center of the second line.

He and Ivan Demidov would certainly do a lot of damage together.

Overtime

– After Chris Johnston, Arpon Basu confirms that the Habs have shown interest in David Kampf.

– A beautiful plateau for the defenseman.

– Juuse Saros would fill a big hole in Edmonton’s net.

– He loves Michigan goals.

– It’s pretty disappointing that there were no penalties on the sequence…