Author: Dose

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Ivan Demidov: If you want to play in the top-6, go and work with Marc Bureau

The Habs, who played well in their first two games of the season, have had a fairly stable lineup for the past few days, and we don’t see why that should change tomorrow night. Here are the trios in question.One of the things we’ve noticed is that Ivan Demidov isn’t getting much playing time. Yesterday, he was the skater Martin St-Louis used the least (12:04) and on Wednesday, only five guys (including Arber Xhekaj) played less than his 13:21. There are circumstances that explain this, including special units. I know Martin St-Louis doesn’t want to number his lines under Nick Suzuki’s, but it’s understood that the line of Kirby Dach, Brendan Gallagher and Zachary Bolduc is the second line, so a third-line player like the Russian is playing less. If he wants to buy himself some playing time ,he’ll have to find a way to crack the top-6. And we all agree that Demidov isn’t going to get there by unseating Nick Suzuki, the player with the clearest role in the whole organization.And his wingers aren’t going anywhere right now either.The way Bolduc is playing, he’s going to stay on the top-6. And until proven otherwise, veteran Gallagher isn’t lining up to earn himself a demotion. The Habs mustn’t break the winning formula they currently have with Gally and Bolduc: that would be a bad idea.And there’s… Kirby Dach. Of course ,Demidov doesn’t play center. But we’re practically saying that if the rookie wants more playing time in the short term, he might as well call up Marc Bureau to practice his face-offs.That would solve the problem of the cursed second center… but the forward isn’t comfortable with face-offs. That’s always been clear.[content-ads]I know my statement about him moving to center is a joke, by the way. And I also know that with all the talent Demidov possesses, my title is going to age as poorly as an old milk carton in the fridge, considering that one day (not so far away), he’ll be on the top-6 as a winger.After all, he’s too talented not to move up to the top-6 soon. #PatienceObviously, Brendan Gallagher won’t be on a top-6 forever. And one day, it will be Ivan Demidov who will put his creativity to good use with Bolduc’s great scoring talent. It makes too much sense on paper, at least. Since he’s not a center (and neither is Bolduc, for that matter), Demidov has to be patient for the time being. But the day the two young players play together, it will be something[spacer title=’en rafale’]- Of note.

– Yes.

– That made me laugh.

– Oh wow.

– Samuel Blais still extra

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Lane Hutson: a deal is imminent, says Jonathan Bernier

Interesting…According to what journalist Jonathan Bernier reports in a recent paper, we should expect an agreement to be signed shortly between the Canadiens and Lane Hutson.We invite you to read his piece on the subject.

Kent Hughes recently held discussions with Lane Hutson’s representatives, and it would appear to have been productive. If this happens soon, could it “free” Hutson and allow him to regain his wings? Surely, yes [content-ads]It’s interesting to note that the Journal de Montréal journalist wonders whether Hutson could sign for three years or for the longer term, seven years. Normally, a bridge contract isn’t necessarily signed a year in advance. But if the journalist is talking about it, we’ll keep an eye on it.We agree that, along with the issue of the second center, the case of Lane Hutson was one of the issues of the summer. Of course, the question is: what will his annual salary be? [spacer title=’Overtime’]- Indeed.

– To be continued.

– Nice.

👌

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Brendan Gallagher, the NHL’s top scorer at even strength

Yesterday, I ended my day in the QUB studios, recording my (new) traditional weekly sports column on Rémi Villemure’s new show. For the occasion, Rémi invited Nicolas Cloutier to liven things up a bit. At the end, we had to make our predictions for the game against the Red Wings. Mine? A 5-0 victory for the Montrealers. Call me Maxime Machine Truman. I’ll push the note and double down: the Canadiens will also beat the Blackhawks 5-1 tomorrow night in Chicago. We’ll see if it was just luck, my case…Several things went right for the Habs last night: Oliver Kapanen scored again, Zachary Bolduc too (although I’m still worried about his groin injury), Jakub Dobes looked like a #1 goalie once again, Noah Dobson and Mike Matheson were fabulous, Arber Xhekaj and Alexandre Carrier were very good, Juraj Slafkovsky found the back of the net, Alex Newhook is showing us all his vision of the game… And Brendan Gallagher is on fire!

Gallagher, 33, had two assists and now has three points in two games in 2025-26.

Gallagher leads the Canadiens in scoring… and ranks sixth among all NHL players.He’s also the top scorer on the Bettman circuit at 5-on-5 and at even strength this morning, tied with Evgeni Malkin and Jack Eichel. He’s definitely dipped his toes in the fountain of youth again this summer. content-ads]Gallagher was said to be finished two or three years ago, but that wasn’t knowing the little warrior from Western Canada very well. As it turns out, the last two years of his $6.5 million contract won’t be as onerous as anticipated, especially with the salary cap going through the roof these days. Gallagher joked after the game yesterday, telling reporters that he’d seen Bolduc have 50-goal seasons in the QMJHL, so giving him the puck was a good idea. He’s right.It’s easy to forget, but Gallagher was the team’s third-highest scorer at even-strength last season.But…It wasn’t all good news for the Canadiens yesterday. Ivan Demidov needs to play more, Patrik Laine needs to be on the first power play, the Habs’ centers need to win more face-offs, and Lane Hutson needs to become the elite defenseman he was last year, especially if he wants to break the bank. This morning, Hutson is one of the only players on the Habs – along with the forwards in Laine’s line – yet to pick up a point this season. Is Hutson suffering from a second-year jinx? I think his difficulties have more to do with his stagnant negotiations. He asked his agents to start the season with a new contract, which he didn’t get.He didn’t ask for a new agent for nothing…[spacer title=’Prolongation’]I find people too often ill-intentioned. I confessed towards the end of training camp that I didn’t like Noah Dobson’s camp because I expect more from a guy on a $9.5 million salary. A few hours later, Martin St-Louis admitted that the last game against the Senators had been Dobson’s best (and I agreed with him). On Wednesday, I thought Dobson was good, but I hated his defensive breakdown on the Maple Leafs’ fourth goal. Yesterday, I thought he was good overall. In two games, Dobson has one assist and a zero cumulative differential. He’s not having a bad start to the season, but I’m convinced he’ll give the team even more once he’s fully recovered from his groin injury and has become more familiar with the team’s defensive system. Is it still possible to say that a guy, no matter how good he is, could be even better? I hope so…It‘s all a question of expectations with Noah Dobson (and the others).

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Jonathan Drouin faces suspension for stick to the face

Jonathan Drouin is on his fourth NHL team, the New York Islanders, and he’ll want to make a good impression there. Even though he’s signed a two-year, $4 million-a-season contract, he’ll want to get some big minutes, and yesterday he scored his first goal in his first game in his new colors. Matthew Schaefer picked up an assist on the game, incidentally.

But this morning, if he got a call from the NHL, it certainly wasn’t to congratulate him on being able to break the ice on Long Island. I don’t think so, at least.In fact, the NHL’s safety department contacted him for his gratuitous sherwood blow to an opponent’s face in a riff-raff session.[content-ads]

The stunt was free, but it could cost the man who plays with Bo Horvat on the club’s top-6. I don‘t think Patrick Roy wants to be without Drouin so soon in the season.We don’t know what prompted the Québécois to hit Connor Dewar like that,but it’s good to see he’s motivated to get involved. He’ll just have to find the line not to cross it next time.We’ll see what the NHL decides in the next few hours. [spacer title=’en rafale’]- No.

– The Islanders aren’t afraid of the media anymore. [

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Canadiens: Christian Dvorak honoured in celebration of the power of friendship

Last year, the Canadiens were a tight-knit group. Christian Dvorak may have left for Philadelphia, but the guys in the dressing room haven’t forgotten who he was and what he brought to the club on the ice, as demonstrated yesterday when he wasn’t replaced in the Power of Friendship celebration. Not only was he not replaced in the victory celebration, but there was still a place for him in the circle.

Of course, it was easy to see why the Habs guys (specifically Kirby Dach and the members of the first line) chose to simply pay tribute to Dvorak.

The

In fact, it was Cole Caufield, who was really close to Dvorak, who asked for the celebration to be done this way. We don’t know whether it’ll hold up all year or not, though.Remember that Dvorak and Caufield were roommates in Montreal. Of course, we know that last year, the collective aspect helped the club make the playoffs. The guys played for each other and the captain defended his group in front of the GM, on the heels of the deadline. But the goal, in 2025-2026, will be to recreate that. Of course, we’re not saying that Caufield doesn’t have the right to honor his friend – quite the contrary. But the guys will have to develop the same this year. I’m not worried, though, considering that virtually everyone arrived early before camp to skate as a group.[spacer title=’Overtime’]- The Blue Jays and Yankees put on quite a show.

– The prettiest alternate uniform in a long time. I have a soft spot for Pittsburgh yellow, whether with the Pirates or the Penguins.

– The Jets manage to keep their guys.

– The Cubs stayed alive, but the Phillies are out, and

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The Canadiens Yzerplante the Red Wings

Last night, the Canadiens played really well against the Red Wings, and Martin St-Louis’ team really dominated. The final score of 5-1 is more representative of the way the game was played than the 5-2 scoreline in Toronto the day before.In both cases, the Habs deserved the W. And yesterday, they got it.Of course, the season is young. But since the Red Wings are supposed to be taking a step forward to get out of their rebuild, yesterday’s failure only serves as a reminder that it’s hard to get out of your rebuild.You could say that the Canadiens Yzerplanted the Red Wings yesterday.On the other hand, the Canadiens saw several players who aren’t late-career veterans and who didn’t spend the entire 2024-2025 season in Montreal make a difference. Among them? Zachary Bolduc, who is capable of putting it all together. Brendan Gallagher realized this when he checked his stats and realized that he had 50-goal seasons in Quebec City…[content-ads]Seeing the Québécois play with Gallagher, an energetic and energetic player at the start of the season, is good for the man who scored once or twice yesterday.idon’t know if the NHL will change Alexandre Carrier’s goal today and give it to Zachary Bolduc.

ZACHARY BOLDUC 🔵⚪🔴

His 2nd goal in 2 games in a Habs uniform!

[image or embed]– NHL (@lnh-fr.bsky.social) October 9, 2025 at 19:41

[content-ads]But we also have to talk about the fact that Oliver Kapanen found a way to score in a second straight game. Lane Hutson, Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook set the table for his goal. #GrantMcCaggForPresidentKapanen has an excellent feel for the game and knows how to set up well, so with these two youngsters added from last year (Kapanen played games, but he wasn’t there full-time… and he certainly wasn’t as dominant) and with Ivan Demidov and Noah Dobson in town, the Habs are better. Dobson had a good game yesterday. It’s clear that he has his flaws, but that he’s really capable of stabilizing the Canadiens’ blue line, raising the bar for the club’s defensive ceiling and reigniting the attack. If he continues to play to his strengths, he’ll be a big help to his new club. Steve Yzerman needs to take notes: that’s how you move a rebuilding process forward. His Yzerplan is flawed and by no means as effective as it was in Tampa Bay. #Taxes?

But hey. It wasn’t just the newcomers who made a difference in yesterday’s game in Detroit. What do I remember from yesterday’s game? [content-ads]1. Jakub Dobes didn’t give away a goal on the heels of the preparatory duels. And yesterday, he went for the W, giving away just one goal on 31 shots. He’s getting better and better on the ice. Good for the Habs.2. Mike Matheson (who plays with Noah Dobson) is an excellent hockey player. And not surprisingly, he benefits from playing a few minutes less per game: he’s fresher and more available. 20:22 is perfect for him. He looked really good – and I’m not just saying that because he found the back of the net.

[content-ads]3. The fact that the score was so high in favor of the Habs allowed Martin St-Louis to roll his bench better. Nick Suzuki (15:46) played nine seconds more than Arber Xhekaj alone… and he was the third most-used forward. But by almost two minutes (12:04 to Patrik Laine’s 13:45), Ivan Demidov was the player least used by coach Martin Rotenberg St-Louis. That said, it must be said that everyone played roughly the same number of minutes and that Ivan Demidov, who isn’t on the first powerplay wave, doesn’t play short-handed. And yesterday, there were seven penalties in the game, so we’ll trust the Habs to manage the young Russian’s playing time and his adjustment to the NHL. But eventually, they’ll have to give him a little more ice time. 4. We expected Juraj Slafkovsky to try and have a good start to the season, and that’s what we got. And I’m not just saying that because he scored –a Slaf who’s involved and remembers he’s big makes a difference.

[spacer title=’prolongation’]The Canadiens will enjoy a day off today before facing the Blackhawks on the road tomorrow. After that, the club will return to Montreal and prepare to face the Kraken in their home opener on Tuesday.

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Top-5: Knights remove goalie, score from center ice… and win in overtime

The Canadiens were in action last night, taking advantage of their visit to the home of the Red Wings to pick up their first win of the season(by a score of 5-1). But there were also 13 other games presented in the National League.

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1: A crazy end to the game in San Jose

The Golden Knights visited San Jose last night, and Pavel Dorofeyev continued his fine start to the season: after scoring a hat-trick in his very first game of the campaign, the Russian hit the target again last night.

He already has four goals in just two games this season:

But this game got a lot of attention… especially for what happened at the end. The Golden Knights were trailing 3-2 and decided to pull their goalie. The Sharks were unable to score in an empty net… and Jack Eichel picked up the disc to launch a counter-attack. The Knights’ star forward shot from the blue line… and created the tie to force overtime:

But it didn’t end there. In overtime, Alex Nedeljkovic made a fool of himself by coming out of his net in a rather haphazard fashion. Reilly Smith took advantage to give his team the 4-3 victory. This is no joke:

Clearly, Nedeljkovic looked better and so did the Sharks. Can someone tell them that the season has officially begun, or…? content-ads

2: A difficult start for Logan Mailloux

Logan Mailloux was officially playing his first regular game with the Blues, and it didn’t go as planned. The St. Louis team was crushed by Minnesota 5-0. And Mailloux struggled defensively, finishing the game at -2.

It’s just one game, we agree. But everyone in St. Louis would have been a different result. Mailloux couldn’t help his club achieve success, and meanwhile, in Montreal, Zachary Bolduc is off to a monstrous start… Better luck next time, Logan! [content-ads]

3: Hat-trick for Kyle Connor

It was Jonathan Toews’ big comeback last night. The former Blackhawks captain returned to the game after missing years of action, and the crowd gave him a big welcome for the occasion.In Winnipeg, we already love him a lot:

But in the game, it was Kyle Connor who took care of the show for Jets fans. The man who just signed a new eight-year, $96M contract started his season off strong… with the help of a hat trick. His scoring talents are so underrated:

However, Connor’s efforts were not enough as the Jets lost the game 5-4.Mikko Rantanen stood out for the Stars with a fine three points (one goal and two assists) [content-ads]

4 : A first NHL point for Matthew Schaefer

Matthew Schaefer, who was selected with the very first pick in the last draft, made his NHL debut last night. And it went relatively well. The defenseman collected his first NHL point with an assist on the Islanders’ very first goal of the season… which was scored by Jonathan Drouin. His family was happy:

On the Isles, there’s also another guy who was playing his first career big-league game. We’re talking about Max Shabanov… and he too took the opportunity to collect his first career point. He scored a superb goal:

The Penguins eventually won by a score of 4-3, and good old Sidney Crosby helped his team to victory with a goal and an assist,while Evgeni Malkin had a big night with three assists [content-ads]

5: A first fight… on his first appearance

Do you know the name Curtis Douglas? If you don’t, maybe you shouldn’t. We’re talking about a 25-year-old player. We’re talking about a 25-year-old player drafted in the 4th round (2018) who had never played a single NHL game before last night. And the 6’9, 242-pound forward (you read that right) took advantage… to fight in his very first appearance on the ice. I like this:

The Lightning lost 5-4 to the Senators, but it wasn’t because Brayden Point didn’t try to lead his team to victory.

The diminutive forward scored once and added two assists: it’s the third time he’s collected at least a point in his team’s season opener, and he became the first to accomplish the feat in Lightning history:

[spacer title=’Prolongation’] – A special moment.

– What a shot.

– Funny goal.

– Nathan MaaaaaaaacKinon!

– Oops.

– A first NHL goal for Beckett Sennecke.

– Feels good.

– Well done.

– Wow.

– Beautiful.

– Beautiful goal!

– Brad Marchand has his first goal of the season.

– Bravo!

– Top scorers of the night:

(Credit: Screenshot / NHL.com)

– There are no games tonight in the NHL.

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The Canadiens give their fans wings against the Red Wings

After losing their first game of the season last night, the Canadiens were back in action today, taking on the Detroit Red Wings. Despite yesterday’s loss, Martin St-Louis didn’t make a single change to his skating lineup.In fact, the only change came in front of the net: Jakub Dobes defended the Montreal cage.

The Red Wings, playing their first game of the season, were keeping an eye on John Gibson’s debut with the club.Here’s the home team’s lineup:

Just like last night, the Canadiens allowed the first goal of the game. It took less than four minutes for the Wings to open the scoring, withcaptain Dylan Larkin scoring his team’s first goal of the season, the 100th in their history.

On the other hand, the Canadiens hit back hard before the end of the period. And just like yesterday, Zachary Bolduc and Oliver Kapanen were at the heart of the Habs’ offensive push,both scoring their second goals in two games.

[content-ads]Then, at the very end of the first period, a third player hit the target for the Habs this season: Mike Matheson scored his team’s third goal.

Noah Dobson picked up his first point in a Habs uniform on the sequence.

After 20 minutes, the Canadiens had a 3-1 lead.

In the second, the club kept the pedal to the floor, as they added a fourth goal to the tally.The goal was initially credited to Alexandre Carrier, then later ruled that Bolduc scored it… before giving it back to Carrier. And it’s not impossible that we’ll end up giving it back to Bolduc.

[content-ads]Then, on the powerplay, Juraj Slafkovský (no doubt about that one) scored his team’s fifth goal.Free wings in a game against the Red Wings, that’s concept.

After 40 minutes, the score was 5-1 in favor of the Habs. We were treated to a much quieter third period, when no goals were scored.We were, however, treated to a bit of breaststroke…

Final score: 5-1 Montreal The Canadiens return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. Spacer title=’Prolongation’]- After a loss last night, the Habs got their first win of the year by beating a club playing their first game of the season, and doing so in front of their homefans. It’s an important win against a division rival who, in effect, is likely to be competing with the Canadiens later this year in the playoff race– Jakub Dobes was really good tonight. He was a little lucky at times (Alex DeBrincat missed some golden opportunities), but he made sure that the Habs dominated the scoring despite a game that was much closer than you’d think.

– Zachary Bolduc continues to impress with the Habs. The Québécois was once again solid tonight, and continues to make his GM look good for having picked him up in a trade – Mike Matheson is off to a great start. The duo he forms with Noah Dobson is really, really solid… by the way,

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Martin Necas, traded because the 2026 crop of free agents is so small?

In recent days, many stars have signed contract extensions. The result? On July 1, 2026, there will be fewer impact players left on the free-agent market than expected. Of necessity, the players who do hit the free-agent market could be in high demand, if all goes according to plan. Of the lot? Martin Necas. The more time passes, the clearer it becomes that the upcoming free agent doesn’t want to sign long-term in Colorado, and wants to try his luck as a free agent. And if we’ve learned anything from Mikko Rantanen (who was rightly traded for Necas last season), it’s that the Avalanche could store him down the road. The club isn’t afraid of this avenue. One hockey man, questioned on the subject by Jimmy Murphy (RG media), is of the opinion that the impact player won’t finish the 2025-2026 season in Denver.

[content-ads]With the likes of Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe the other big names on the market, Necas could become an interesting rental player. If he is ever traded, Jimmy Murphy asks us to keep an eye on the Rangers (for Panarin) and the Maple Leafs. And if Necas ever wants to sign a contract, the Flyers, Ducks and Sharks are the ones to keep in mind. Remember that the Maple Leafs, last season at the deadline, tried to send Mitch Marner to Carolina in return for Mikko Rantanen’s services.

Let’s also mention that the Avalanche need to save money for Cale Makar, who can become a free agent in 2027. [spacer title=’Overtime’]- Interesting.

– Read on.

– Watch tonight.

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Jeff Gorton laughed at Kent Hughes when he wanted to hire another manager

Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes have been at the helm of the Canadiens for several years now. The two men, who have known each other for a long time, have brought a new vision to town, and we’re starting to see the results. That said, it’s important to remember that seeing two leaders in town is something new. Prior to the arrival of Hughes and Gorton, there was only one person at the top of the Montreal hockey operations hierarchy,but Geoff Molson felt that this was a lot of responsibility for one person, hence the decision to hire two.However, when Hughes arrived in Montreal, he found that he was spending a lot of time managing things that weren’t directly related to hockey. Andas the GM told Renaud Lavoie (TVA Sports), Gorton laughed in his face.

[content-ads]According to the GM, Gorton explained to him that the two were being paid handsomely to do this part of the job. Hughes still tried to plead his case, insisting that he was hired for his hockey know-how, and once again, Gorton laughed in his face.No, being GM of an NHL team isn’t as simple as you might think: there are other things to manage than what happens on the ice.It’s interesting that Hughes, despite having Gorton to help him with it all, still found it a lot of management. Imagine what it was like when there was only one person managing the whole hockey side of town.In Hughes’ defense, it was his first experience running a team, so he wasn’t fully aware that it was part of the job. Since then, he’s found a way to adapt and incorporate it into his routine,and at least it’s given Gorton a good laugh, hehe. spacer title=’Overtime’]- Interesting.

– I think so too. He’s very, very good.

– The Rocket season starts tomorrow.

– Wow.