Author: Dose

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The Canadiens are the second-best NHL team since the Four Nations

Things are going well for the Canadiens this year.

Currently, no one has more points than the Canadiens’ 16 since the start of the regular season. It’s a nice surprise for fans of the club, though.

Sometimes, when a club turns the corner on rebuilding, it does so quickly. The Habs seem to be a good example of this.

But in reality, it goes further than that. And why is that? Because since the break from the Four Nations Confrontation, the club has been on fire.

To what extent?

As Denis Gauthier told L’Antichambre, since the end of the tournament in Montreal and Boston, the Canadiens are the second-best team in the NHL in terms of points percentage.

The #1 team? Vegas.

In 37 (regular-season) games since then, the club has 23 wins and 14 losses, including six in overtime . The points percentage is therefore 70.3.

Dominique Ducharme’s Golden Knights are at 73.6%.

The 37-game sample is starting to look pretty significant. It’s not as if it’s only been two weeks since the action resumed following the February tournament.

However, I’m keeping in mind that all 37 games took place at high-intensity times. Martin St-Louis’ players have been in playoff mode since February… and right now, there’s the buzz of getting back into the game.

However, the trip out West, under difficult conditions and without Kaiden Guhle, gives the prospects hope that the Habs will do well in some of the less easy or challenging phases of the calendar.

In short, things are looking up for the Canadiens.

overtime

– Interesting stuff.

– Really?

– Of course.

– He needs to give more.

– Machine.

– To be continued.

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Jakub Dobes one of the favourites for the Vézina and Calder among book buyers

There’s a lot of talk about the Canadiens’ goaltenders’ start to the season.

Samuel Montembeault (whose birthday it is today) and Jakub Dobes are off to quite different starts. Dobes is simply on fire, as you know.

And by necessity, on social networks, it’s been Monty’s party for several days now. Every post about the goalkeepers has the Québécois eating shots, even if that’s not the basic objective.

By necessity, the Canadiens announce their colors through their goaltending. At the moment, Jakub Dobes is playing more often than not, which says a lot about the club’s short-term plan.

Recently, the club has been playing on the road… but Saturday’s game (at home against the Senators) will tell us even more about goalie management.

What is something to behold is the fact that Dobes’ start to the season (officially a rookie) is an eye-opener in just a few weeks.

How eye-opening?

When we look at Sportbook, a betting site, we see that Jakub Dobes is the third favorite for the Calder, behind Ivan Demidov and Matthew Schaefer. His odds are +650.

In any case, he would be Renaud Lavoie’s choice right now.

What’s more, he’s fifth for the Vézina, behind Igor Shesterkin, Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Logan Thompson. His rating is +1700. That’s crazy.

He wasn’t there at the start of the season – and I’m willing to say that even though I didn’t check until the season started.

The 2025-2026 campaign is still very young (October hasn’t blown by yet), but Dobes is impressing. Will he be able to stay consistent for months on end?

To be seen.

overtime

– Interesting.

– The Habs will practice at 11:30 this morning in Brossard.

– Politics and sport will always be linked.

– Six goaltending controversies in Habs history. [JdeM]

– For those interested.

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Phantoms remain invisible in Laval

The Laval Rocket wanted to extend their winning streak at home, and that’s exactly what they did on Wednesday night, blanking the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-0. Pascal Vincent’s men thus remain unbeaten at Place Bell (3-0-0-0), in a one-sided encounter in which the defense and young goaltender Jacob Fowler shone.

The game got off to a scrappy start, with both teams trading penalties and missed chances. The Rocket failed to capitalize on an early powerplay, but it was Adam Engström who finally opened the scoring late in the first period. The Swedish defenseman completed a superb play orchestrated by Laurent Dauphin and Jared Davidson, who literally mystified the opposing defense.

Engström’s goal seemed to give wings to the Rocket, who took complete control of the game in the second period. Laval dominated 23-9 in shots after 40 minutes, multiplying offensive presences and long sequences in enemy territory. The Phantoms, for their part, seemed overwhelmed and unable to keep pace, despite the efforts of goalkeeper Aleksei Kolosov, who held the fort for a long time.

Late in the second, Owen Beck doubled the Rocket lead with a well-executed four-minute power play. The young center completed a beautiful play prepared by Florian Xhekaj and Tyler Thorpe, scoring his second goal of the season at the perfect time, just before intermission.

The third period was a formality. Laval continued to impose their tempo, and Davidson sealed the outcome with a superb breakaway goal, his fifth of the season. Captain Lucas Condotta was at the heart of the play, collecting the puck in the neutral zone before allowing Davidson to thread the needle.

The crowd, in full attendance despite the fact that it was a Wednesday night, applauded a complete Rocket performance, as efficient as it was disciplined. Fowler earned the shutout with 17 saves, while Dauphin once again showed his intensity and creativity.

The Rocket thus scored a convincing 3-0 victory and proved that they’re hard to beat at home. As for the Phantoms, let’s just say they lived up to their name: they were simply invisible on the score sheet.

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Mourning the loss of a friend: Brad Marchand takes time off from the Panthers to coach U18s

Villains aren’t always who you think they are.

In fact, someone’s villain is often someone else’s good guy.

Take Bad Brad Marchand, for example: we learned to hate him for 15 years in Boston, but as soon as he put on the Canada vest, we started to like him. Even he and Brendan Gallagher seemed to hate each other in the NHL… and love each other with Team Canada.

Same thing with Richie Laryea and Jonathan Osorio in soccer..

Back to Brad Marchand. On Tuesday, the Panthers gave him the day off against the Ducks (in Florida). The reason given by the Panthers: mortality in his family. Until now, everything had been (sad and) normal..

But the story took a much more emotional turn last night when Brad Marchand was spotted behind the bench of a Halifax U18 team. What was he doing there? He was filling in behind the bench for a good friend of his (March & Mill Co Hunters head coach JP MacCallum), whose 10-year-old daughter (Selah Panacci-MacCallum) recently died of cancer. Although the team lost 7-0, I’m sure Marchand’s presence warmed the hearts of many whose moods were at zero before the game.

First, the family the Panthers mentioned in their press release was a very good friend of Brad Marchand’s. Love ’em.

Second, Brad decided – and the Panthers agreed – to return to Nova Scotia to support his friend who is going through an extremely difficult bereavement. I love it even more.

The Panthers could have said no since Marchand is the team’s leading scorer and Barkov AND Tkachuk are both injured… but they said yes. #Hats off

Note that the Panthers lost a game they should have won to the Ducks in Sunrise; if the playoffs started today, they wouldn’t be in it. However, I’m convinced that the simple fact of having acted with respect and understanding will bring them more victories in the future. The guys are treated like real people, not just numbers, in Florida. And that makes a difference in the long run!

It should be noted that Brad Marchand also promoted a fundraiser in Selah’s honor.

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A post shared by Brad Marchand (@bmarch63)

The Panthers play their next game on Saturday in Florida, before hitting the road for the American West (four games in seven nights). Marchand will definitely be on the plane to California, but I think he’ll also be back in Florida for the game against the Stars this weekend. We’ll see.

overtime

– Quite a game on his part.

– Anthony Mantha talks about Sidney Crosby. [BPM Sports]

– What do you think?

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Adam Engstrom: the Rocket intends to be tough on him

Adam Engstrom left a great impression on Montreal during training camp.

So much so, that some fans were calling for Mike Matheson to leave the team and make room for him. That didn’t happen, and when the Habs needed a call-up for their trip out West, he wasn’t chosen.

It was a logical choice for both Engstrom and his coaches, Pascal Vincent and Daniel Jacob. Both spoke to Mikael Filion of RDS.

Vincent and Jacob have a clear task: prepare Engstrom for the NHL. He wants him to arrive ready to dominate in the big league, and won’t go easy on the prospect.

“The NHL is faster and the execution is better. What we want from him is NHL performance in the AHL. So I’m going to be tough on him. He knows it, he’s ready for it, and that’s what he wants.” – Daniel Jacob

The Swedish defenseman sees things the same way. He said he agrees 100% with his bosses’ decision and is happy to play more in the AHL.

I like what Jacob said about Engstrom. That’s what he wants, for us to be tough on him. The Rocket assistant coach wouldn’t do that with just any player.

I think Jacob takes it personally to prepare his young defenseman for the big league.

I think the Habs have found Mike Matheson’s eventual replacement. He has similar tools to the Québécois defenseman and is progressing well. In fact, he added a goal to his season-to-date tally tonight.

I like the Canadiens’ plan with him and wouldn’t rule out the possibility of seeing him play a few games in Montreal between now and the end of the year.

Jacob Fowler, another excellent Habs prospect, picked up his second shutout of the season tonight in a 3-0 Rocket win. He stopped all 17 shots thrown by the Leigh Valley Phantoms. After a few more difficult performances, he’s starting to find his rhythm. Let’s not forget that this is his first season in the pros.

Overtime

– Many opposing opinions.

– Interesting perspective.

– Low for his standards.

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Cayden Primeau gave away six goals yesterday: his start to the season criticized in Toronto

So far this season, Cayden Primeau has played three games for the Maple Leafs. And he’s given up 13 goals.

On October 14, he won against the Predators, but gave up four goals. On October 25, he gave up three goals in an overtime win over the Sabres.

And yesterday, he gave up six goals in a 6-3 loss to Columbus.

It seems that the fact that he’s picked up two wins has had the effect of not setting off alarm bells in Toronto. But yesterday’s loss makes the folks in the Queen City realize that he hasn’t been playing against big powerhouses, and that his stats are ugly.

The sample is small, but his 4.30 average and .838 efficiency rate are not reassuring. He’s in the top-6 worst goaltenders this season in both categories.

Of course, the fact that the Maple Leafs were forced to turn to a 10-under following Joseph Woll’s absence explains Primeau’s presence in town.

But in an NHL where it takes two goalies to win, Cayden Primeau doesn’t give his team many chances. Let’s put it this way.

Let’s not forget that the Maple Leafs gave a chance to a goalie who is clearly too good for the AHL, but who can’t establish himself in the NHL.

What happened in 2024-2025 in the Habs organization is the ultimate proof.

I don’t know how patient the Maple Leafs will be with Primeau. After all, he was obtained from the waivers and Brad Treliving must be looking at his options as we speak.

Unfortunately for the former Habs man, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Ironically, there’s also a goaltending controversy in Montreal. It involves #2 doing better than #1, not the other way around, that said.

But Kent Hughes must be glad his duo isn’t Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau this morning.

extension

Yesterday, there was only one game in the NHL. The Maple Leafs lost 6-3 to the Blue Jackets, which wasn’t exactly glorious.

Mathieu Olivier had four points. So did Charlie Coyle.

(Credit: NHL.com)

We’ll note that Samuel Blais, who signed with the Canadiens in July and was lost in the waivers, played his first game of the season yesterday. He picked up a goal and an assist.

Tonight, there will be 11 games on the schedule. 16 on Tuesday… one yesterday… 11 tonight… there’s no middle ground in the NHL.

(Credit: Sportsnet)
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Olympic projections: Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson absent from US line-up

Of necessity, many players are currently auditioning for the Olympic Games across the NHL.

For the Canadiens, four players in particular come to mind (in addition to Juraj Slafkovsky, who has secured his spot for Slovakia): Jakub Dobes, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson.

We’ve been talking about the last three for a while now.

If we focus on the two American players, we know exactly what’s holding back the American management: the size of the players in question. Caufield and Hutson aren’t big guys, and that has to be taken into consideration.

If you read an Olympic projection on the NHL website for the U.S. team at the Games, you’ll see that the site’s experts didn’t include the two Habs players in their projections.

Obviously, this is not the official Olympic roster, which will be released at the end of December. It’s a projection by people who have no control over the situation.

But still: they know what they’re talking about.

In the case of Lane Hutson, I’m not exactly surprised by all this. Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy will be back healthy, which works against the Habs defenseman.

And Hughes is built in the same mold as Hutson… #Small #Offensive

As for Caufield, there could potentially be a bigger debate. How much will the U.S. want to do without the NHL’s leading scorer, as of this morning?

Even though he’s small, he still has his uses over 200 feet and in overtime too.

Note that both players are listed as honorable mentions on the NHL website. In both cases, these are players that everyone will be keeping a close eye on.

And with good reason.

Will this motivate them to excel in the meantime? Martin St-Louis and his bosses must hope so… even if the two Americans could hardly do more right now.

The real question here is what the American leaders think.

overtime

– Speaking of the Olympiques.

– Speaking of Cole Caufield. #MonsieurProlongation

– Artemi Panarin: the case is the talk of the town.

– A summit meeting for the NHL and North America’s junior leagues.

– Well done.

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The Habs sell Joshua Roy and Marc Del Gaizo to the Rocket

On the heels of the trip out West, the Canadiens recalled two players: Joshua Roy and Marc Del Gaizo. The reason was simple: the club needed extra players.

With injuries to Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle, depth was tested.

That said, the club is now back from its travels… so it was expected that both guys would be traded to the Rocket.

And that’s just what happened: both guys were sent back to Laval.

The Habs have just made the announcement.

More details to come…

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The Canadiens have the NHL’s leading scorer and passer

In 2024-2025, Nick Suzuki convinced Kent Hughes not to sell at the trade deadline.

He did it by going into his office, but he also did it by playing well on the ice. The Habs GM kept the group intact… and #14 thanked his GM by putting the club on his shoulders.

The result? The club made the playoffs in 2025.

It looks like the captain has decided to keep the momentum going this season. After all, he’s off to an excellent start to the 2025-2026 campaign.

In fact, in 11 games in 2025-2026, he has 16 points, including 14 assists. He ranks fourth in the league in points and first in assists.

He’s also on a streak of 10 straight games with at least one point, having gone pointless in the season opener against the Maple Leafs.

It’s not surprising to see Suzuki lead the league in assists, given that nobody has more goals than Cole Caufield. His tally stands at nine, following the Canadiens’ 4-3 win in Seattle.

In fact, the Canadiens saw their firepower duo contribute three goals in yesterday’s game. Caufield scored in overtime on assists from the captain and Lane Hutson, but he also scored earlier in the game. Nick Suzuki and Noah Dobson assisted.

And Juraj Slafkovsky found the back of the net with the help of his two line mates. It was with an extra man.

So basically, this line (because Slaf, even if he didn’t get three points yesterday, played a big one) put the Habs on their backs to get the W against Seattle.

The Canadiens thus concluded their Western trip with three wins in four games. That’s no mean feat… especially considering that, in the Edmonton game, the Habs were leading 5-3 at one point.

But the good work of the first line isn’t the only reason behind yesterday’s win in Seattle. There are many reasons why things went so well for the Habs.

For example?

1. The Canadiens may have pulled away late in the game (Brandon Montour and Shane Wright continue to kill the Canadiens, who must learn to play with a lead), but the first 45 minutes were incredible.

And so was overtime.

2. Jakub Dobes won his first six games of the season, which is no mean feat. Who here had six Dobes wins in October on their bingo card, when Samuel Montembeault isn’t injured? Not me.

He let in a few late goals, but he won.

3. Juraj Slafkovsky (on a 37-goal pace this season) scored his fifth of the year. Before, you had to wait until January to see him score his fifth of the year.

It’s all coming together nicely.

It’s good to see that both waves of the powerplay scored. When the opposition doesn’t have five skaters on the ice (shorthanded, overtime), the Habs’ talented players have space… and they take advantage of it.

Alex Newhook scored the other goal on the powerplay and the Habs were 2-for-2.

4. Noah Dobson was the only player not named Nick Suzuki or Cole Caufield with more than one point yesterday. Two assists, three shots and a neutral differential in over 22 minutes of play: that’s excellent.

Mike Matheson played 27 minutes yesterday. In fact, the club’s four best defenders did their jobs yesterday.

  • Mike Matheson: 27:05
  • Lane Hutson: 22:20
  • Noah Dobson: 22:07
  • Alexandre Carrier: 19:34
  • Jayden Struble: 15:28
  • Arber Xhekaj: 11:29

5. Even though the overtime format has changed over time, seeing Cole Caufield lead the Canadiens (11 goals) for overtime goals is intense.

But he’s got a knack for scoring in the big moments.

overtime

The Canadiens have finished their four-game road trip… but it’s time to come back to Montreal. So today is travel day for the Canadiens.

Tomorrow, practice resumes in Brossard.

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Adam Engstrom: the Rocket intends to be tough on him

Adam Engstrom left a great impression on Montreal during training camp. So much so, that some fans were calling for Mike Matheson to leave the team and make room for him. That didn’t happen, and when the Habs needed a call-up for their trip out West, he wasn’t chosen.

It was a logical choice for both Engstrom and his coach, Pascal Vincent. Both spoke to Mikael Filion of RDS.

Vincent has a clear task: prepare Engstrom for the NHL. He wants him to arrive ready to dominate in the big league, and won’t go easy on the prospect.

“The NHL is faster and the execution is better. What we want from him is NHL performance in the AHL. So I’m going to be tough on him. He knows it, he’s ready for it, and that’s what he wants.” -Pascal Vincent

The Swedish defenseman sees things the same way. He said he agrees 100% with his bosses’ decision and is happy to play more in the AHL.

I like what Vincent said about Engstrom. That’s what he wants, for us to be tough on him. The Rocket head coach wouldn’t do that with just any player. I think Vincent takes it personally that he’s preparing his young defenseman for the big league.

I think the Habs have found Mike Matheson’s eventual replacement. He has similar tools to those of the Québécois defenseman and is progressing well. In fact, he added a goal to his season-to-date tally tonight.

I like the Canadiens’ plan with him and wouldn’t rule out the possibility of seeing him play a few games in Montreal between now and the end of the year.

Overtime

– Lots of opposing opinions.

– Interesting perspective.

– Low for his standards.