Author: Dose

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Heartbreaking defeat for the Jays: the Dodgers are World Series champions (again)

Tonight, the Canadiens won in overtime against the Senators.

It was an important game at the start of the season, but not as important as the final game of the World Series.

The Jays and Dodgers concluded their epic seven-game series tonight in Toronto. It was the visitors, to the great detriment of the Torontonians, who took top honours in the 11th inning. A heartbreaking 5-4 defeat.

Shohei Ohtani, the best player in Major League Baseball, was the Dodgers’ starting pitcher. He faced one of the best pitchers of all time Max Scherzer.

Ohtani didn’t get off to a great start: he didn’t have the best control of his pitches. Bo Bichette took advantage in the third to hit his first long ball of the series. In fact, it was his first hit by more than one base.

The three-run blast gave his club a 3-0 lead.

I don’t know if this was the shortstop/second baseman’s last game with the Jays, but clearly, he hit his biggest no-hitter of his professional career.

The Dodgers hadn’t said their last word, however. They cut the deficit to one with two sacrifice balls.

And in the bottom of the sixth inning, this team’s obscure hero Andres Gimenez hit a big, timely double to put the Jays back ahead by more than a run.

The previous half inning, Chris Bassitt made quite a play to retire the ninth batter Miguel Rojas.

Ohtani was in the on-deck circle, imagine that…

Two days’ rest: that’s all Trey Yesavage needed to get back into the fray after a Wednesday night performance of 12 strikeouts and just over 100 pitches.

In the seventh, he allowed a walk to Ohtani early in the inning, but nevertheless recovered nicely. He forced Will Smith to hit a weak fly ball to center field and Freddie Freeman knocked in a double play.

In the ninth inning, ahead by one, Jeff Hoffman, who has been excellent in the playoffs so far, allowed a home run to Miguel Rojas.

The game was tied at that point.

Heading to the 10th inning in this crazy game!

The Jays had the bases loaded with one out, but…

Early in the 10th inning, LA also had the bases loaded, but, like the Jays, the California club was unable to capitalize.

In the 11th inning, the visitors took their first lead of the night.

Will Smith hit a solo home run off Shane Bieber.

After throwing 96 pitches the day before, Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw 33 to collect the win.

The MVP of this series, without a doubt. At the end of the game, he made Alejandro Kirk his last victim (double play).

Extension

– In the fourth inning, Gimenez was hit by a pitch and the dugouts emptied.

– Ernie Clement had quite an October.

– One of the best series in history.

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Alex Newhook gives CHs overtime win

After a three-day wait following Tuesday’s win over the Kraken, the Habs were back in action against the Senators.

Samuel Montembeault was back in net.

Here are the line-ups:

The game started well for the Habs.

Cole Caufield scored his 10th goal of the season already.

Shortly afterwards, Zach Bolduc served up a big check to Jake Sanderson.

Sanderson landed on the home team’s bench. In defense of his teammate, Kutis MacDermid threw down the gloves against Bolduc, but he was the only one willing to fight.

Result: the Habs went on the power play…

And made the most of it. What a pass from Nick Suzuki to Juraj Slafkovsky.

In the second period, however, the Sens tied the game.

First, Drake Batherson closed the gap.

And late in the period, Michael Amadio tied it.

Earlier in the period, Lane Hutson missed a penalty shot.

In the third period, Tim Stutzle gave the visitors their first lead.

What a game!

Late in the game, just as it looked like Ottawa would win, Ivan Demidov scored the equalizer.

Great vision from Lane Hutson on the play.

For the thousandth time this season, the game including the Habs went into overtime.

Alex Newhook sealed the deal in overtime.

Final score: 4-3.

The Habs return to action on Tuesday at the Bell Centre against the Flyers.

Overtime

– He was right to refuse.

– Of note.

– Jayden Struble won hands down.

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Mike Matheson wants to invest in real estate after his career

After the season, Mike Matheson’s contract will expire.

The chances of him staying in Montreal are still good, in my opinion, since he wants to win, is Québécois and likes the group.

In his career, the defenseman has made just over $36 million, but after his field hockey career (he’s only 32), he won’t be idle. He wants to invest all that good money in real estate. On the Drette sul tape podcast , Samuel Montembeault talked about the guys’ hobbies, and Matheson likes to study about real estate. He’s taking a course.

On a personal level, Monty doesn’t know much about it and relies entirely on his compatriot to advise him on how to invest his money and manage his business.

Forget RDS or the media world for Matheson, his post-career will be spent in real estate. As Sam Caron, the other guest, and David Beaucage, the host, pointed out, to do real estate, you need time, which the defender doesn’t have.

If you’re renting out buildings and there are insect or water problems, for example, you have to be there.

And Matheson doesn’t yet have the life to do real estate full-time.

In any case, it’s a great post-career, but clearly he still has some good hockey to offer, and that’s what he’s going to concentrate on for now. If he plays until he’s 40 – his style of play will allow him to extend his career – he still has eight years, or one or two contracts.

Behind the scenes

– Wow.

– 11.5 M for Alex Tuch?

– MPP’s turn to support Vladdy.

– Her last chance to win a World Series?

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David Reinbacher collects first point in Rocket win

Last night, the Laval Rocket lost 2-1 to the Rochester Americans.

In defeat, David Reinbacher wasn’t pathetic, but he finished with a minus-2 record.

Today, he looked a little better. First, he collected his first point of the season on Jared Davidson’s insurance goal.

The forward’s seventh goal of the season.

As for Reinbacher, not only did he get his name on the scoresheet, but he stayed in the positive (0) in a 5-2 Rocket victory.

One step at a time for the young Austrian. No one has given up on him, now he’ll have to stay healthy and prove that he doesn’t belong in the AHL, but in the NHL.

With the departure of Logan Mailloux, who is struggling and will be sidelined again with St. Louis, Reinbacher will have plenty of opportunities to shine, especially offensively. He’ll get time in all areas of the game, which is a good sign.

Laval is there to train youngsters, and Reinbacher is its priority.

Another prospect the Rocket are keeping a close eye on is Jacob Fowler. He was smoking hot today, stopping 36 of 38 shots.

The American has won four of his six games this season.

Laurent Dauphin may not be a top-tier prospect, but he’s an organization player. So we have to talk about his four (!) goal game. Clearly the best player on this team so far this season.

Prolongation

– The Alouettes in the Eastern final.

– Of course it is.

– Go Jays!

– Listen/Watch.

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World Series Match #7: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. wears Marie-Philip Poulin’s jersey

Tonight, the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series Finals.

The winner of the game will accomplish the ultimate mission of winning the MLB championship.

And Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (who is playing a huge role in his club’s playoff success this year) seems to be really ready for this one.

After arriving in Auston Matthews’ jersey for game #7 of the championship series against the Seattle Mariners… Vladdy decided to wear Marie-Philip Poulin’s for tonight’s game.

It’s a tribute to an athlete who has a reputation for performing in the big moments… and it’s sick.

Feel good, play good. No?

Marie-Philip Poulin scored both goals in Canada’s 2-0 victory over the USA in the gold medal final at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

She scored the tying and winning goals in Canada’s 3-2 overtime victory over the USA in the gold medal final at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Ah… And she also gave Canada gold against those same Americans at the Women’s World Championship in 2021 with (another) magnificent overtime goal.

She’s clutch, to put it another way:

It’s cool to see professional athletes supporting each other like that.

And it’s even cooler to see Vladdy (who was born in Montreal) honor an athlete like Marie-Philip Poulin for her success in the big moments.

Here’s hoping it helps him have a big game. Because it would be sick to see him slam one home to give his club the win – à la Poulin…

Overtime

– Bang.

– The two brothers!

– Elle

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Noah Dobson, the rebuild and the “Jesperi Kotkaniemi mistake” finally corrected

What do I want to talk to you about today in my weekly column? Hmmm…

Let’s see..

The status of the team’s various prospects? Well, no, I talked about that just last week!

Demidov or Schaefer for the Calder? Well, others have already done so..

But even though I think it’s still too early to debate the matter with sufficient arguments, I’m going to add my premonitory grain of salt: for the second year in a row, Schaefer will skate too fast, won’t be able to see what’s going on around him and will hurt himself, either by crashing into something or someone. A similar accident happened to another race car driver, Connor McDavid, in his first season..

So, that’s it, Demidov’s going to win the Calder!

Next!

What’s next?

Suzuki and Caufield performing beyond the highest expectations we once had for them? Hmmm, not bad… We could have some fun and go back into our archives in this text, or this one, when the two succeeded each other at the top of our summer prospect list in 2020 and 2021..

But if there’s one current topic in the wonderful world of the Canadiens that just about everyone continues to overlook, it’s the acquisition and impact of Noah Dobson.

And it’s Dobson I want to talk about today; a fitting way to mark his 400th NHL game tonight against the Senators!

Kotkaniemi’s mistake finally corrected!

Those of you who have been reading me for a while – I’ve been writing for DLC and my friend Max since 2011! – surely remember my stance in favor of Quinn Hughes several weeks before the 2018 draft.

While theidea of picking a center was understandable in the context of the time, little Hughes was just too good!

And it’s not as if the Habs, who 1) had already traded Sergachev, 2) had just completed a first season without Andrei Markov, 3) were relying on an aging Shea Weber and 4) had decided to bank on the Schlemko, Mete, Morrow, Davidson and other Mike Rielly’s of this world, didn’t need a new elite talent on defense!

At worst, there was always Brady Tkachuk to turn to if they wanted to draft a forward who could play center. At least, that’s what we told ourselves for several years..

So, the KK gamble fell through (and still does in Carolina) and Bergevin had to give up first- and second-round picks to replace him more or less adequately with a Christian Dvorak then in his mid-20s.

Then, after four seasons pocketing $4.45 million in Montreal, the good D-Vo left and was able to secure a nice little one-year, $5.4 million contract in Philadelphia.

It should not be overlooked that this economy and refusal to extend Dvrorak’s adventure helped greatly when the time came to acquire Noah Dobson and give him $9.5 million for 8 years!

Dobson, 25, 6’4, 200 lbs, averaging 52 points over the past four seasons, has clearly become a star defenseman, bordering on superstar, in the NHL. He still had a 70-point season (+12) two years ago and would be the #1 defenseman for half the clubs in the NHL.

Some even think he looks a little like a right-handed Markov…

In any case, when it comes to right-handed defensemen, only Makar, Fox and perhaps McAvoy (when healthy…) are superior to him overall.

The Islander already has 7 points in 11 games so far this season – that’s an average of 52 points over 82 games! – while playing little on the powerplay.

But above all, he’s playing profusely on a highly mobile first pairing at equal strength with Mike Matheson, arguably one of the best partnerships in the NHL so far this season. It’s a not too awkward first pairing, and one that could become a permanent fixture if the Québécois extends his stay in his hometown..

Dobson in the reconstruction timeline..

Of course, one might think that the selection of Lane Hutson in 2022 has made us forget the mistake of not choosing his cosmic twin, Quinn Hughes, in 2018.

But if we think of the Dobson acquisition in the chronological portrait of the rebuild, it came, so to speak, to fill the “2018 void” following the loss of Kotkaniemi and the Romanov trade.

Indeed, Dobson, selected 12th that year, became, in my opinion, the4th best player of that vintage, behind Quinn Hughes, Rasmus Dahlin and Brady Tkachuk.

I’m taking him on my team well ahead of Andrei Svechnikov, always a little disappointing, very often injured, as well as Evan Bouchard, much less mobile, at risk defensively, and whose production wouldn’t be the same without the demigods McDave and Dr. Drai in front of him.

So, if we include the acquisition of Suzuki – perhaps on his way to becoming the2nd best player of 2017 behind Cale Makar – and think that Caufield is certainly in the top 5 of 2019, the Habs therefore have a “top 5 equivalent pick” in three consecutive years at the draft between 2017 and 2019.

That’s quite a rebuilding base! By 2025, you’ll have three star/superstar players in their mid-twenties!

And it’s not as if Newhook (16th, 2019), Guhle (16th, 2020), Dobes (136th, 2020) and Bolduc (17th, 21), while waiting for the next batch of prodigies and wunderkinds chosen between 2022 and 2025, are one-armed! That’s 4 more top-15/top-20 players in 3 years…

Like a little smell…

In other words, when it’s been nine years in a row(counting Zharovsky in 2025) that your organization finds a way to score at the draft by grafting players worthy of the top 20, top 15, top 10, top 5, even top 3, well, as we can see, you end up with a scary core (Happy Halloween!) and a club with very serious aspirations.

So it’s not hard to see why the whiff of stainless steel is beginning to waft over Montreal..

And, it has to be said, it smells a little stronger since the arrival of Noah Dobson.

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Jakub Dobes is the NHL’s third star of the month

Jakub Dobes has been dominant since the start of the season.

He hasn’t lost yet, and his stats are among the best among NHL goaltenders.

That said, it’s understandable that Dobes has been the NHL’s best goaltender in recent weeks… because he was named third star of the month on the Bettman circuit. Only Jack Eichel and Mark Scheifele were able to beat him to the award.

More details to come…

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Video: Vinzenz Rohrer scores an incredible goal in Switzerland

Vinzenz Rohrer had a fantastic practice camp with the Canadiens.

He proved he has some very special qualities… and it was his skating that really stood out. We saw him create a lot of scoring chances thanks to his speed and vision, too.

The Austrian has left Montreal with a fine calling card. No doubt about it.

The forward is playing in Switzerland for the third season in a row, and he opened his account last night. Things were going a little badly for him since he hadn’t collected a single point in his first 11 games of the campaign… but he stood out yesterday by scoring a truly magnificent goal.

Rohrer outwitted his opponent with his hands, fired into the net as he fell… and was able to beat the keeper with a good shot.

A sequence worth seeing again and again:

It takes talent to score a goal like that.

And it takes creativity with the puck, too. We know that’s one of Vinzenz Rohrer’s qualities, and to see him able to show his talent is a good thing.

But at some point, Rohrer will have to get his act together too. It’s good to see him score a goal of such beauty… but he’s not having a great start to the season and that’s going to have to come around at some point.

Maybe yesterday’s goal will help him regain his confidence. Because that’s what he showed at the Montreal camp: he was so comfortable with the puck that he seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted on the ice.

He needs to do the same now, especially in Switzerland.

He needs to be able to dominate on the ice if he wants to make a name for himself and continue to progress in the right way.

Overtime

– Go Jacob!

– Nice.

– Boom.

– Oh.

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Rookie of the month: Alexander Zharovsky should be able to play even more

It’s hard not to talk about Alexander Zharovsky’s performance so far this season in the KHL.

The Canadiens’ prospect is racking up points at a really interesting rate, and he doesn’t look like a first-year pro.

When you see him take control of his club’s powerplay, as he did yesterday, you realize he’s comfortable on the ice. And that’s what I find most special: he trusts his skills and isn’t afraid to use them to help his club. The kid’s got talent.

It’s not complicated: Zharovsky has 14 points in just 13 games this season. And production like that from an 18-year-old in the KHL is impressive.

His exploits haven’t gone unnoticed either.

The kid was named KHL Rookie of the Month because he registered 12 games in as many games in October. It sends a clear message to the rest of the league… but also to his coach.

All this is even more impressive when you consider that he spends just 13 minutes and 49 seconds (on average) on the ice per game.

And that’s why I say it sends a clear message to his coach. Maybe it’s time to use him even more… because the results are there so far, and because the player is confident in his abilities too.

It would be intriguing, after all, to see what he could do with even more ice time. And I think the Canadiens would like to see that happen too.

But so far, everyone’s happy to see that he’s able to do well even at 18 in the KHL.

It’s encouraging for what’s to come, that’s for sure…

Overtime

– Of note.

– Good news.

– Really. Hoping for a W from the Blue Jays.

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Montembeault vs Ullmark: a duel between two goalkeepers who need to do better

The Montreal Canadiens return home tonight after playing their last four games on the road out West.

It’s the Habs’ first game at the Bell Centre in almost two weeks, and it pits them against a division rival in the Ottawa Senators.

It’s a very big and important game tonight, with the Senators currently three points behind the Habs in the standings with one more game to play.

In short, in preparation for this very important game, the Habs held a practice this morning at the Bell Centre, and of course, there were no surprises.

With currently 12 healthy forwards, six healthy defensemen and two healthy goaltenders, we know what Martin St-Louis’ line-up will look like tonight, and there’s really no mystery, given that no call-ups have been made.

And even for the starting goaltender, we’ve known for a few days that Samuel Montembeault will get his first start since October 23.

The Québécois will certainly be looking to bounce back tonight and redeem his poor start to the season, and the same goes for his Sens opponent Linus Ullmark.

Like Montembeault, Ullmark, the Sens’ #1 goaltender, is off to a rocky start for Ottawa.

  • Montembeault: 2-3-0, 3.82 goals-against average, 0.842 save percentage
  • Ullmark: 5-4-1, 3.36 goals-against-average, 0.862 save percentage

Even if his stats are a little better than Monty’s and he’s played double the number of games, Ullmark still has to be better.

He’s one of the Senators’ mainstays, and probably the main reason why the Sens made the playoffs last season.

So, the Swedish goalie will also be looking to get back on track and perform better tonight, when he has a great opportunity to redeem himself with a huge game at the Bell Centre.

In short, it’s a duel between two goalkeepers who aren’t performing at the top of their game at the moment, and who will be looking to bounce back.

It will be very interesting to see whether both goalkeepers put in strong performances, or whether one of them steals the show.

We could also see a stampede on either side if both goalies aren’t at their best, as has been the case since the start of the 2025-2026 campaign.

Overtime

– Very funny.

– Well said.

– This will be one to watch.

– Things are bad for the Wild.

– To be continued at 1pm.