Author: Dose

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Victory over the Jets: Martin St-Louis’ speech made the difference

We know that Martin St-Louis is a good motivator. It’s one of his strengths as Habs pilot.

When the head coach makes speeches, they have a certain impact. And we know that his players listen to him because he has the respect of the guys in the dressing room.

That respect was earned in part thanks to a good speech when he arrived in Montreal in February 2022.

And before yesterday’s game, the Canadiens players needed St-Louis to use his oratory skills to help the team win against the Jets.

He did just that – and it worked.

As Arber Xhekaj recounted, St-Louis inspired the boys to go to war. The club was collectively dissatisfied with its last two games (in Denver and against the Sens) and had to stand up and play the right way.

Mission accomplished.

As journalist Dave Lévesque reports, it was by appealing to his players’ pride that Martin St-Louis managed to find the motivation to take them to the next level.

The club simply had no right to be beaten (again) at home. They had to avenge the last few setbacks, but also show that the players were capable of putting the last few days behind them.

And they did, thanks in no small part to their coach.

We know that THE big challenge for a young team is to find consistency. And as the Canadiens are THE youngest team on the circuit, this is clearly one of the head coach’s mandates.

overtime

– Nick Suzuki and the Selke: possible.

– Do the Blue Jays have the best rotation in America?[MLB Passion]

– Sportsnet dropped it. Broadcasting Andrei Markov’s ceremony was basic.

– Peter DeBoer: A team will probably sign him.

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Less than eight minutes for Zachary Bolduc | Oliver Kapanen, the most-used forward

Last night, Zachary Bolduc played on the fourth line – regardless of what the Canadiens’ Twitter account posted before the game.

But in reality, I could have said that Bolduc didn’t play much on the fourth line. Because Martin St-Louis, who took the Québécois off the first line, didn’t really trust his fourth unit.

Only three players played less than 13 minutes: Joe Veleno, Jared Davidson and Zachary Bolduc.

(Credit: NHL.com)

Of the three guys, Bolduc is the only player who played less than eight minutes and had fewer than ten presences on the ice. He played 7:54 and had nine shifts.

For Martin St-Louis, with Bolduc, it’s all or nothing. And yesterday, it was nothing.

Will the next game, on the road, be more favourable for Bolduc, who can’t find his way to the Bell Centre? Who knows.

But if he plays another seven minutes with Joe Veleno, he won’t be in a position to win the Maurice Richard, let’s say.

On the other side of the spectrum, Oliver Kapanen was the most-used forward yesterday. 20:07 is one second more than Nick Suzuki’s and Juraj Slafkovsky’s playing time.

The European must be feeling confident. Kapanen has Ivan Demidov (who leads the rookies in points) producing in addition to himself leading the rookies in goals. Kapanen has eight.

(Credit: NHL.com)

It’s unclear whether this will continue, but I’m sure Martin St-Louis will take it while it lasts. Kapanen’s development is impressive, and right now, the Habs can’t afford to be without him.

He’s found a way to make himself indispensable.

Will Ivan Demidov do with Oliver Kapanen what Andrei Markov did with Mike Komisarek – make him look good to the point of signing too big a contract?

History will tell…

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– Big news in Toronto… even if it was to be expected.

– Good news.

– Veteran puts down roots in Tampa Bay.

– Wow.

– Really?

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Ivan Demidov: highest career playing time last night

In recent days, Martin St-Louis has been saying that he needs to do a better job of managing Ivan Demidov’s playing time. The Russian deserves more ice time, and everyone knows it.

And let’s just say that yesterday, the coach responded.

Ivan Demidov was on the ice for 19:29 on the heels of the Canadiens’ win over the Jets. That’s a career-high in playing time for the rookie.

And let’s just say he earned his minutes. Andrei Markov’s advice undoubtedly helped…

The game wasn’t played much on special units, which means the young man got some playing time at even strength. He found ways to stand out.

He played a very complete game on both sides of the rink, and his unlikely chemistry with Oliver Kapanen continued to serve the Canadiens’ cause well.

This game of #93… wow.

In reality, Martin St-Louis had a lucky hand with his trios. Alexandre Texier was good with both rookies, and the return of Juraj Slafkovsky to Nick Suzuki’s unit also helped the Habs’ cause.

The top-6 did their job.

It was Zachary Bolduc, however, who got the short end of the stick on the first line for 7:54 last night. Is this just a message… or the start of a trend?

We’ll have the answer in the next few days. But we’ll keep in mind that the next game is on the road…

But those aren’t the only things we can take away from the match, which was rich in emotion. Even before the match, there was some excitement in the air at the Temple.

Have you ever seen the General moved?

1. The Canadiens made their eighth comeback this season. It’s not sustainable in the long term (the last few weeks have proven that), but it’s better to do it than lose.

The glass is half full this morning.

2. I didn’t hate seeing Alexandre Texier shoot in a shootout. We know he’s got the hands, and if it helps him gain confidence along the way… all the better.

On the other hand, Nick Suzuki missed again.

3. Arber Xhekaj had lost his mojo in recent weeks. But yesterday’s win over Adam Lowry allowed him to stop doubting his abilities.

Seeing his trainer sing his praises must also do him good.

4. Jon Cooper, at the Four Nations Confrontation, told his guys in overtime that one of them needed to be selfish and shoot instead of always passing.

I can’t get that sentence out of my head when I watch the Canadiens. Yesterday, in overtime, it was intense.

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The Canadiens are off today. Tomorrow, there’s a practice on the menu and the club will leave for Toronto for its Saturday night game against the Maple Leafs.

I don’t expect to see any changes in the lineup.

With Florian Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom sent back down, the Canadiens only have 18 healthy skaters. To go on the road, they’ll need at least one extra.

Marc Del Gaizo and/or Samuel Blais are candidates. We’ll see who’s at practice tomorrow.

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“At least he doesn’t cry”: Jakub Dobes teased by Juraj Slafkovsky

Last night, the Canadiens had to play hard. After two bad outings in a row, it felt good to see the club come out strong against Winnipeg.

The club has been on a tear at home since the start of the season. But yesterday, on a night of tribute to Andrei Markov, the boys found a way to win in a shootout.

Winning after 65 minutes (by a score of 3-2) doesn’t help to go for 60-minute wins, which is an important tie-breaker at the end of the season… but at least the club won.

(Credit: NHL.com)

Yesterday, the Habs played a solid game. It must have done wonders for the boys’ morale.

And we all agree that if there’s one player who needed a good one, it’s Jakub Dobes. After a pretty tough November, seeing him bounce back is a great thing.

(Credit: ESPN)

Do you want a sign that things went well for the Czech?

If he’d had an ordinary game in the win, Juraj Slafkovsky wouldn’t have been in a position to tease him in front of the kodaks following the win over the Jets.

But Slaf did.

What did he say? He referred to the time the goalie got emotional in front of the media a few weeks ago… and said it was a good thing Dobes didn’t cry after yesterday’s game.

Remember that yesterday, Dobes made 29 saves on 31 shots. He managed just one power play (the game was mostly tied) and kept his team in the game.

He also wanted to look better in the shootout and responded in kind. His reaction to the last save of the game shows that he needed the W.

The next question, in his case, will be whether he’ll be in the starting line-up on Saturday. The club will play in Toronto on Saturday before hosting the Blues at the Bell Centre the following day.

Both goalies are expected to play over the coming weekend, but I expect to see Dobes get the start in the Queen City in two days’ time.

overtime

– Interesting.

– Good listening.

– Deserved.

– The final decisions are coming.

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Top-5: Two more Ovi goals in Caps thaw in San Jose

Five games were played in the NHL last night, including the Canadiens against the Jets.

The Habs managed to win… but it’s still relevant to talk about what happened elsewhere in the league.

Let’s take a look:

1: Caps have fun in San Jose

Alex Ovechkin has been playing in the NHL for 20 years. It’s been so long… that yesterday, he faced the Sharks and their retro uniform (a jersey they wore during Ovi’s rookie NHL season) :

The Capitals captain had some fun last night.

He scored his 13th and 14th goals of the campaign to finish his night’s work with two goals… and he helped his club win 7-1.

A real thaw in San Jose:

Ryan Leonard also stood out with four points (including two goals).

Ovechkin now has 14 goals in 28 games this season. He’ll score 41 if he can keep up the pace between now and the end of the regular season…

2: A JJ Peterka victory

JJ Peterka is quite a hockey player.

We saw it last night… when he collected four points against the Anaheim Ducks in a 7-0 Mammoth victory.

He scored two goals in the game:

Victory will do André Tourigny’s team a world of good.

After all, the Mammoth have just three wins in their last 10 games… and the club isn’t exactly riding a hot streak after starting the season strongly.

Whether the Mammoth can build on yesterday’s win remains to be seen. But it helps when the best are the best, as they were last night against the Ducks…

3: Trevor Zegras… unloved?

We heard all kinds of things about Trevor Zegras before he arrived in Philadelphia.

And do you know what?

The forward has been having the time of his life since joining the Flyers. He scored again last night – and that’s 26 points in as many games this season:

The Flyers won by a score of 5-2 against the Sabres, and it’s worth mentioning that Matvei Michkov collected two assists in his club’s victory.

But…

Getting back to Zegras, I hear he’s really appreciated in his new club’s dressing room. You can tell, in fact, by seeing all the players on the team come to his defense when he gets hit like that:

Clearly, Zegras’ new start is good for him. We knew he had talent… and he’s showcasing it right now.

Good for the Flyers.

4: The Stars are too good for the Devils

We may have been treated to a preview of the Stanley Cup Final between the Devils and the Stars.

But the Dallas team was simply too good for the New Jersey team last night. The Stars won 3-0 thanks to goals from Miro Heiskanen, Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen :

The Stars are scary because they can count on excellent players in the lineup.

And even then, when those players make the difference… it shows on the ice, as we saw last night against the Devils. Jake Oettinger stopped all 30 shots he faced for the shutout.

5: A goalkeeper’s goal in the WHL

Do you know Xavier Wendt?

Probably not. We’re talking about a 17-year-old goalie who hasn’t (yet) been drafted into the NHL and plays in the WHL.

But last night, Wendt was in the news for all the right reasons, because he scored a goal. It’s always special to see a goalie hit the back of the net:

His team (the Tri-City Americans) won 4-0 against the Swift Current Broncos, and in the end, the Americans fans really got to have a great night.

I can only imagine that Wendt will remember it for a long time to come…

Prolongation

– Top scorers of the evening :

(Credit: Screenshot / NHL.com)

– 10 games tonight :

(Credit: Screenshot / Google)
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The Canadiens sell Florian Xhekaj and Adam Engström to the Rocket

In recent days, the Canadiens have had quite a few skaters with the big club. The club had 13 healthy forwards and seven healthy defensemen, which isn’t typical for the Habs.

Especially when the club isn’t on a long road trip.

And with two days off coming up, it was expected that some players would be traded to Laval. And that’s just what’s happened.

The club has just announced that Florian Xhekaj and Adam Engström, who did not play tonight, have been traded to the Rocket.

They will join the club’s training program.

More details to come…

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The Canadiens defeat the Jets in a shootout

After a tough loss to the Senators last night, the Habs were back in action tonight as the Winnipeg Jets came to town.

And for the occasion, Martin St-Louis stirred the pot. Juraj Slafkovský on the first line, Alexandre Texier on the second and Zachary Bolduc on the fourth: the lineup looked different today.

Here’s what it looked like:

As for the Jets, it was without Connor Hellebuyck that the club travelled to Montreal, with the star goaltender sidelined by injury.

Here’s the visitors’ line-up:

Before the game, a ceremony was held to pay tribute to Andrei Markov… and the defenseman was warmly welcomed by the crowd.

Here’s the full ceremony, for those who missed it:

The game then got underway, and the first few minutes were fairly quiet… until Adam Lowry put the kibosh on it.

The Jets captain hit Alexandre Carrier solidly, and Arber Xhekaj went to defend his teammate. That’ll do the Sheriff’s confidence a world of good.

But in the minutes that followed, it was the Jets who opened the scoring instead.

Mark Scheifele, a much-maligned player in Montreal, scored the first goal of the game.

After 20 minutes, the Jets had a 1-0 lead.

But in the second, the Habs struck back. The club’s powerplay, which has picked up steam recently, was at it again.

Juraj Slafkovský scored this time.

Shortly afterwards, however, the Canadiens found themselves caught in their own zone, and with a stick missing(Slaf no longer had his).

And as fate would have it, Kyle Connor restored the Jets’ lead.

But despite everything, the Habs once again fought back. This time, it was Ivan Demidov’s line that came to the fore, as he made a beautiful play in the corner to pass the puck to Oliver Kapanen.

And Kapanen scored a beautiful goal.

After 40 minutes, the score was 2-2.

It was a third period in which both clubs had chances, but the goalkeepers were solid.

Jakub Dobes in particular was solid on a couple of occasions.

After 60 minutes, the score was 2-2. So we needed extra time.

The Canadiens had a golden opportunity with Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Lane Hutson on the ice… but the three kids tried a few too many passes.

So we needed a shootout.

Cole Caufield scored, then Kyle Connor was frustrated by Jakub Dobes.

Alexandre Texier(yes yes) missed the target, then Mark Scheifele was also unable to score.

Nick Suzuki was frustrated by Eric Comrie, then Gabe Vilardi hit the post.

The Habs won the shootout.

Final score: 3-2 Montreal (TDB)

The Canadiens return to action on Saturday night, when they travel to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs. Once again, it’s the start of a two-games-in-two-nights sequence.

Extended

– The Habs’ first line, which came together tonight, was very solid. Martin St-Louis opted to put together a winning formula, and it paid off. I have a feeling the three guys will be back together for a while.

– Cole Caufield… the passer?

– The line formed by Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Alexandre Texier was very effective on the ice tonight. We felt that Texier, a player with talent, was finally able to let his game speak for itself alongside the two youngsters… and we can assume that this line has earned itself another audition for the next game. The two youngsters were particularly good tonight.

– That’s very encouraging.

– Eric Comrie was really, really solid in front of the Jets net tonight. Almost made you forget about Hellebuyck, hehe.

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The time Andrei Markov could have had Michel Therrien’s death on his conscience

Tonight, the Canadiens will honor Andrei Markov at the Bell Centre.

The man nicknamed “The General” is sure to receive a warm welcome from the fans, and it’s sure to be a special moment for him.

We know he’s not known for being a super-emotional guy… but I have a feeling it’ll be different tonight.

That said, to “celebrate his return” to town, Martin Leclerc shared a really tasty anecdote about Markov on the recent episode of Tellement Hockey. He recounts how, when Michel Therrien was head coach of the Canadiens, there was a funny exercise in practice: the players were positioned near the goal line and had to shoot into the opposing net in order not to skate.

And if a player managed to hit the crossbar of the opposing net, it was the coaches who had to skate… five lengths of ice. You guessed it: Markov did it, and his teammates jumped on him to congratulate him, because everyone wanted to see the coaches skate.

Except… the guys were afraid Michel Therrien would die because he was out of shape. Martin Leclerc sums it up well with this sentence:

The players were afraid Michel Therrien would die on the ice because he was a heavy smoker. In the end, they said to themselves “My God…” – Martin Leclerc

Ayoye!

(Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports)

Picture this.

You get a notification on your phone… to know that the Canadiens’ head coach has died after skating too long in practice due to a bet he lost.

We agree: that would be pretty far-fetched, thank you very much.

But it’s a funny anecdote nonetheless. We know Andrei Markov as a rather reserved guy, but he had fun getting his coach to skate even though he could have had Michel Therrien’s death on his conscience.

It makes for a good story, at least. And I’m sure Michel Therrien never wanted to test his players like that again… hehe.

Overtime

– Speaking of Markov.

– Of note.

– No worse.

– I like his explanation.

– Well done.

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Renaud Lavoie: “I’d take Lane Hutson before Quinn Hughes at the Olympics”

Lane Hutson is a special talent. We’ve seen it quite clearly for over a year now: he’s an offensive creator the likes of which Montreal has rarely seen in recent years.

He didn’t win the Calder by accident, you know.

That said, we know that doesn’t guarantee him a spot with the U.S. at the next Olympics. Hutson wasn’t even invited to Team USA ‘s orientation camp this summer… and you get the feeling that his chances of making the club aren’t very good.

And that clearly doesn’t sit well with Renaud Lavoie, who talked about it on JiC tonight… and said this:

I’d take Lane Hutson over Quinn Hughes. – Renaud Lavoie

The informant’s point is this: Hutson, when you look at the numbers since the start of 2025, doesn’t have much to envy Hughes. In fact, since the 4 Nations Confrontation, Hutson has even more points than Hughes (46 for Hutson versus 39 for Hughes).

It’s important to point out that the Habs defenseman played eight more games in that sequence. But in any case, it goes to show that his offensive impact is comparable to Hughes’… and on ice that will be smaller than an NHL rink, having Hutson would be advantageous, says Lavoie.

That said, it should be remembered that Hughes has already been selected to play for the United States, making the first six selections. And given that Hughes and Hutson fill similar roles, that’s more of a reason why it’s hard to justify having both on a team.

Hutson is one of the NHL’s very good defensemen, but he’s not as good as the guy in his chair. That’s the problem.

Sooner or later, Hutson’s turn will come. But right now, Hughes is simply superior, excelling at 200 feet and one of the few players in the league capable of taking over a game single-handedly.

Overtime

– Speaking of Hughes.

– Interesting.

– P.K. Subban gives Andrei Markov some love.

– Oh?

– Nice read on Lane’s little brother.

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“Montreal, I love you”: Andrei Markov receives a hero’s welcome at the Bell Centre

Tonight, the Canadiens paid tribute to Andrei Markov at the Bell Centre. The defenseman, who played 990 games for the Habs, was one of the best players in the club’s recent history.

Unfortunately, his stay in the city ended a little awkwardly, but the club still reached out to him to honor him. And the Russian ended up accepting.

And clearly, Markov is a much-loved guy in Montreal. This was clearly evident when he arrived on the ice: he was treated to an incredible ovation that lasted over two minutes.

It made for a touching moment… but in the minutes that followed, Markov took the opportunity to deliver a speech. And the Russian, usually a man of few words, was generous in his address.

He praised the organization and the talented players he’s had the chance to play with (in particular, he saluted Brendan Gallagher on the club’s bench)… but above all, he gave love to the fans:

Thank you very much. Montreal, I love you. – Andrei Markov

More details to come…