Category: Dans les coulisses

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Dans les coulisses

The Canadiens in the top 10 of The Fourth Period’s NHL power rankings

The Canadiens are currently riding a wave of success. This means that the team is fighting for a playoff spot for the first time since the start of their rebuilding process.

Everyone loves it, and it catches the attention of the media that covers hockey.

In its latest NHL power rankings, The Fourth Period placed the Canadiens at 10th in the entire NHL. Yes, yes, in the entire NHL!

To explain the Canadiens’ position in this ranking, Tab Bamford simply stated that Montreal has a record of 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and that the players are having a lot of fun playing these days.

The players are having so much fun that they played with a stuffed Youppi! after Patrik Laine’s overtime goal against the Rangers.

This good streak isn’t just for show. It has allowed the Canadiens to climb into a playoff position.

Before Wednesday night’s games, Montreal held the second wildcard spot in the East, just one point behind the Lightning, who occupy third place in the Atlantic.

To return to the power rankings, only three teams from the East are ahead of the Canadiens. We’re talking about the Panthers (ninth), the Maple Leafs (fifth), and the Capitals (first).

All the other teams ahead of the Canadiens are in the West!

This means that, according to The Fourth Period, the Canadiens are currently better than the Hurricanes, the Lightning, the Devils, and the Senators, all of whom are ranked above Montreal.

Based on this ranking, the Canadiens are also doing better than the Edmonton Oilers. We’re talking about a team that features Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and was just one game away from winning the Stanley Cup last year!

Since December 17, the Canadiens have won 13 of their last 17 games. It’s an impressive streak, considering the team has faced quality opponents.

However, the streak must continue for the Canadiens as only two points separate the top position from the sixth in the wildcard standings.

In Brief

– The Rocket wins in overtime.

– Very funny!

 

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Dans les coulisses

Patrik Laine gave quite a scare to his fiancée.

When hockey players go on the road with the team, the players’ partners do not always accompany them. During the Canadiens’ long trip over the holiday period, Patrik Laine’s fiancée, Jordan Leigh, stayed in Montreal.

She got used to living alone for quite a while, as the Canadiens were on the road from December 23 to January 4!

After getting used to sleeping in the same bed as her partner, sleeping alone for an extended period can change habits, and that’s exactly what happened with Laine’s fiancée.

Jordan Leigh posted a video on her Instagram account where she explains how Laine gave her the fright of her life without doing anything.

Here is the video in question.

 

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Dans les coulisses

Cole Caufield: as effective as Alex Ovechkin in the slot at five-on-five this season

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Cole Caufield is having an outstanding season. With 24 goals in 47 games, he is just five goals away from breaking his personal record for a season.

The Montreal Canadiens’ number 13 has a rocket of a shot that can get past any NHL goalie, especially when he is in a prime scoring position, such as in the crease, for example.

When shooting from the crease at even strength this season, Caufield has an identical success rate to that of a certain Alex Ovechkin. This was reported by François-David Rouleau from the Journal de Montréal, who relied on Sportlogiq’s statistics.

This season, Caufield has managed to score on 9.7% of his shots taken from the crease at even strength. Ovechkin has the same success rate. This is something to be proud of for the young sniper of the CH.

Caufield’s 9.7% rate places him 34th in the entire NHL. The players at the top of this ranking are often those who have not taken many shots. That’s why Adam Gaudette of the Senators ranks first with a rate of 15.6%.

The former Canadiens player is not far behind with a success rate of 13.7%.

To return to Caufield’s success rate of 9.7%, it is worth noting that he has more than doubled his effectiveness compared to last year. In the 2023-24 season, he had only a 4.4% success rate on shots from the crease at even strength.

Caufield is effective on the power play this season, but he has truly stood out at even strength. 17 of his 24 goals have been scored at five-on-five.

Caufield’s efficiency is evident during games. When he finds himself in an excellent scoring position, he often takes advantage of his chance. A good example is this goal against the Capitals when he was all alone in front of the opposing goalie.

His powerful shot also allows him to get through defenders. This was recently demonstrated against the Canucks.

This efficiency can partly be attributed to the multiple passes from his teammates completed in the crease this season. Nick Suzuki has delivered 15, just ahead of the nine from Juraj Slafkovsky and the eight from Lane Hutson.

However, Caufield can take some credit himself because to receive so many passes in the crease, you must be good enough to stand out from opposing defenders.

In Brief

– The rule was not well received.

– Wow!

– That would be completely crazy.

– Nice photo!

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Dans les coulisses

The CH is 3rd in the NHL since the beginning of 2025: For a supposedly difficult month of January…

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Things are going well for the Canadiens since the beginning of what was expected to be a terrible season.

The team has started to win regularly and even today is sitting in the last playoff spot in the NHL.

It’s different from the last few years, let’s just say that.

The Canadiens are one of the hottest clubs in the NHL, and what stands out is that the team’s success is becoming frequent.

If I had told you two months ago that the Lightning was visiting the Bell Centre… Very few people would have thought that the Habs would come away with a win.

Yet that’s exactly what happened last night.

Victories are piling up, so much so that the Canadiens are one of the best teams since the beginning of the year 2025.

Only the Capitals and the Rangers are doing better:

(Credit: NHL.com)

The Habs have accumulated the same number of points as the Hurricanes, but they have played one game fewer.

That said, it’s still interesting to see that the Rangers have been at the top of the standings since the beginning of the year.

We know how bad things were going in New York in the first third of the season!

Notably, the Wings, the Blue Jackets, the Flyers, and the Preds are also among the best teams in the league over the past 22 days. That too is interesting!

But if we return to the Canadiens, these recent successes are even more important because they’ve faced strong teams in the last few weeks.

It’s crazy when you think about it:

  • Win against the Panthers (4-0)
  • Win against the Lightning (5-2)
  • Win against the Golden Knights (3-2)
  • Win against the Avalanche (2-1)
  • Win against the Canucks (5-4)
  • Win against the Capitals (3-2)
  • Win against the Stars (3-1)
  • Win against the Rangers (5-4)
  • Win against the Lightning (3-2)

We all said that January looked scary (and that’s normal), but the Canadiens are proving that they can beat anyone.

Now, we are starting to talk about the playoffs, and when we see that the Habs have one of the easiest schedules in the NHL until the end of the season, it makes sense in some way to believe it’s possible:

(Credit: Tankathon)

There is still a lot of hockey to play.

The Canadiens have 35 games to play before the end of the campaign, but they are giving themselves a chance to secure a playoff spot, something that nobody really expected this season.

And credit must be given to the team, which has been playing so well for a month.

In Brief

– That’s normal.

– I love it.

– Oops.

– It’s cold… Even in Detroit!

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Dans les coulisses

The CH should keep Matheson in mind for the upcoming season according to Simon Boisvert (and he is right).

Mike Matheson is far from being a perfect player.

We know he can be excellent when he plays his game and that he is capable of producing offensively. But we also know that he can be ordinary when he thinks about too many things on the ice.

Last night, we saw the ordinary Mike Matheson against the Lightning: the defenseman caused turnovers, he was soft in his zone, and he did not play a great game. It happens.

Despite everything, the defenseman has his utility in Martin St-Louis’s lineup.

He notably plays alongside Lane Hutson, he wears a letter on his jersey because he is one of the good leaders in the locker room, and he helps the CH offensively.

The idea of seeing him traded by Kent Hughes has been on the table since last year, and it’s normal. His contract ends at the end of the 25-26 season and he has good value right now because he commands an annual salary of $4.875 million.

For a defenseman who collected 62 points last season, that’s more than good.

That said, Simon Boisvert has been categorical in talking about the defenseman in the recent episode of Processus: we need to keep Matheson in mind for next season.

By keeping Matheson, the Canadiens would still have the opportunity to send him elsewhere at the deadline in 2026 (if that’s Kent Hughes’s plan).

But the Snake’s comment is relevant in my eyes, and here’s why: the Canadiens need leadership on the blue line.

After all, there exists a world in which David Savard does not return for the upcoming season. If that’s the case and the Canadiens trade Matheson by then, there would be only one veteran on the blue line with the current players… and that is Alexandre Carrier.

Unless Kent Hughes decides to take advantage of the salary cap increase to acquire an experienced right-handed defenseman?

That said, we know Matheson’s value in Montreal, and the Canadiens need to make the most of it. Keeping Matheson would avoid the need to search for a replacement for him and would also allow Kent Hughes to spend money elsewhere in his lineup.

And if Matheson stays and leaves in the summer of 2026 because he demands too high a salary, Kaiden Guhle – who just celebrated his 23rd birthday – will be more ready to take the spot of the “veteran” defenseman #1 in the Montreal lineup.

All this to say that it is too early in my eyes to think about trading Matheson.

He is only 30 years old, he helps the Canadiens in his own way even if it is not always great defensively, and this is the moment when the CH should take advantage of what he can bring to the ice.

In Brief

– Beautiful goal!

– Flower is doing well lately.

– David Perron is back.

– Makes sense.

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Dans les coulisses

Martin St-Louis absolutely must win the Jack Adams if the Canadiens make the playoffs.

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

It has been a long time – a very long time – since we’ve enjoyed watching the Canadiens this much.

It seems everything is working lately: the team is capable of defeating strong opponents because all the players want to contribute to the success of the Habs.

The loss on Saturday against the Leafs stirred conversations for the reasons we know, but it really seems to be just a minor setback when looking at the team’s performance over the past month.

The players have done their part, but a large portion of the credit goes to Martin St-Louis.

The head coach of the Canadiens sold a plan to his guys, and they bought into the project with him. Since everyone has been contributing in their own way, the Canadiens are winning!

At the beginning of January – just as the Habs finished their holiday trip – Eric Engels suggested seeing Martin St-Louis as one of the leading candidates for the Jack Adams if the Canadiens manage to secure a spot in the playoffs.

But now, at the end of January, it’s even clearer with the team’s recent successes: if the Canadiens make the playoffs, Martin St-Louis must win the Jack Adams.

He must win the title of Coach of the Year in the NHL because there was no one on earth who placed the Habs in the playoffs two months ago.

No one!

Even though the Canadiens are in an interesting position right now, not a single columnist from The Athletic voted for the Habs to make the playoffs this season.

This says a lot about how some experts view the Canadiens… And that’s exactly why St-Louis’s candidacy for the Jack Adams (again, if the Habs make the playoffs) makes sense!

There are other interesting names who could be in the running for the award right now.

I think of Craig Berube, who is in his first season behind the bench of the Leafs (4th in the NHL standings)…

I think of Scott Arniel, who is also in his first season with the Jets (2nd in the NHL standings)…

I think of John Hynes because there were no major expectations in Minnesota, and the Wild is having quite a season (7th in the NHL standings)…

And ultimately, we must consider Spencer Carbury (Capitals), who is the coach of the best team in the league as I write this.

But in reality, what Martin St-Louis is achieving right now… That’s something.

Especially when we remember the team’s ranking as of December 1, which was less than two months ago.

The Canadiens were at the bottom of the league and were only one point away from the last place in the NHL standings.

It’s funny, but we don’t hear anyone saying that Martin St-Louis is a pee-wee coach right now…

(Credit: NHL.com)

In short

– Great experience for the kids!

– Hehe.

– That’s cute.

– Well done.

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Dans les coulisses

Slafkovsky feels like throwing up when he watches his games from the start of the season.

It seems that last year’s scenario is repeating itself for Juraj Slafkovsky.

He had a very mediocre start to the season… But he has been playing very good hockey for the past few games.

The big forward has scored in three of his last four games, and it’s not a coincidence: he has (re)started using his body to bother opponents and create plays on the ice.

We have seen how good he can be when he is at the top of his game and takes advantage of his skills.

In the second half of last season, Slaf was really excellent… And we have to wonder if we will see the same Slaf by the end of the campaign.

That said, the 20-year-old is putting a lot of pressure on himself because he wants to perform the right way. He wants to be an important player on Martin St-Louis’s team because he has confidence in himself.

This is what explains, in my opinion, why he feels that his start to the season has been disgusting.

The Slovak claims (NHL.com) that he feels like throwing up when he thinks back to his first games of the campaign. That’s a big quote:

I have a hard time believing that this is just a coincidence… But we shouldn’t forget one thing in all of this.

Exactly two weeks ago, Kent Hughes said in his mid-season report that he wanted to see more from Slaf.

The Canadiens’ GM reminded that Slaf “is capable of more” and it’s not the first time this season that he has sent him a message.

At the beginning of December, Hughes “gave some flak” to his young player because he wasn’t playing as the organization desired.

Since Hughes’s remarks two weeks ago, Slafkovsky has four points (in seven games) and has found his footing.

He is playing with more intensity, going to the dangerous areas, and is much more involved on the ice.

This is the Slaf we want to see… But in every game:

Juraj Slafkovsky is 20 years old, and we shouldn’t forget that.

He is becoming more mature over time, and at some point, he will understand that he has to play this way consistently to achieve more success.

But it’s still good news to see that things have been improving for him lately. One thing at a time…

In Brief

– I didn’t have this on my bingo card!

– Wow… 😅

– To be continued.

– Oh!

– I can’t wait to see him next season.

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Dans les coulisses

Salary cap increase: an advantage and also a disadvantage for the CH

Christian Dvorak (4.45 M$), Joel Armia (3.4 M$), Jake Evans (1.7 M$) and David Savard (3.5 M$) may not return with the Canadiens next year.

I expect that Savard and Evans will stay in town for the sake of the exercise… But in my eyes, the chances of seeing D-Vo and Armia return are slim.

If we add the salaries of D-Vo and Armia to the current cap space of the Canadiens (which won’t have changed by that time unless there is a trade), Kent Hughes could have nearly 14 M$ in extra space to maneuver this summer. Right now, the Canadiens have 6,777,084 $ in cap space.

But be careful: this is without counting the increase in the NHL salary cap.

The league’s revenues are good right now; the NHL has cancelled the escrow system until the end of the season… And this means we could see an increase of nearly 10 million dollars in the salary cap.

Initially, the Canadiens had an advantage because there was still a lot of money coming off their books. 14 M$ is enough to make a big splash in the free-agent market…

But where it gets a bit more “complicated” is that the situation changes for the Canadiens if all the other NHL teams also benefit from an additional 10 M$ to maneuver this summer.

Marco D’Amico wrote an article on the Montreal Hockey Now site regarding the subject:

It’s interesting.

Even though the Canadiens could benefit from the increase in the salary cap… It is a certain disadvantage at the same time because all the other teams will be able to benefit as well.

For example, if the cap only increased by a few million, the Canadiens would have had a great time.

The Habs could have freed up salary on their cap with the contracts that are not returning, and they would have had more maneuverability than the other big teams, because most of them already have a significant salary cap.

It changes the game if everyone can spend an extra 10 M$!

Ultimately, this could change Kent Hughes’ plans.

The Canadiens’ GM will have to be creative if he wants to bring a big player to town since other NHL teams will also have the money necessary to make a big splash in the free-agent market.

It promises to be exciting! 

In Brief

— Cayden Primeau will be in net for the Rocket tonight.

— Everyone loves Marineland Ivan Demidov! 🎶

— Good question.

— Depth at forward for the Sharks.

— Go listen to this!

— Reminder: it’s #BellLetsTalk day today.

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Dans les coulisses

Samuel Montembeault will play tomorrow evening.

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

After today’s practice (a practice marked by absences), Martin St-Louis addressed the media. And there are two points I take away.

The first is that, as expected, he does not anticipate the club calling up a player in time for tomorrow’s game. Owen Beck has been sent down, for those who haven’t seen it.

So unless they play with seven defensemen (I don’t believe in that scenario unless the CH is in trouble), we should expect Michael Pezzetta to join the team’s lineup while Jayden Struble sits idly.

Expect to see Pezz play four minutes tomorrow, like.

I don’t know why a Rocket player hasn’t been recalled. I imagine Martin St-Louis doesn’t want to disrupt the current formula of his team and he likes having a spot to give Nick Suzuki double duty? Or that he doesn’t want to upset things in Laval?

I’m not exactly sure.

But one thing is certain: even though it’s good to see that the CH intends to give Pezzetta a chance, as he deserves to play, he needs to take advantage of it. In other words, stay away from the penalty bench if you get the chance to play.

And a second surprise awaited those who listened to the coach’s press conference.

While everyone expected Jakub Dobes to get the nod for tomorrow night’s game, it will actually be Samuel Montembeault who has been tasked with facing the Red Wings.

Does this mean that St-Louis will break his usual formula of giving Monty the Saturday night game at home? Or does it mean Dobes won’t play until next week?

I expect to see Monty Saturday night, for what it’s worth.

overtime

If that’s the case, it will be an important statement. After all, Montembeault is the club’s #1 goaltender and even though Dobes’ performance has some wanting to see him play more, this is the club of the Québécois.

St-Louis, who wants to win tomorrow to stay in the playoff picture, is clearly sending his best man to win against Detroit. And it’s worth noting that Montembeault was excellent yesterday

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Dans les coulisses

Jacob Fowler nominated for the Hobey Baker

Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images

Do you want to avoid being surprised?

Due to his great season, Jacob Fowler is currently nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, which recognizes the best NCAA Division I player in the United States.

Ryan Leonard and Gabriel Perreault are also nominated at Boston College.

What you should know is that it is still very preliminary at this point. He is not in the top-3 because it is quite early to determine all of that… in the middle of January.

In fact, each team nominates a few players and eventually, there will be a top-10 that will be created across the college hockey circuit.

From there, the list will be narrowed down from ten to just three players, and it is in April that we will discover which player can take home the trophy.

So today, this is the first step. And seeing him present at this point is… normal. Very normal, even.

He who is possibly the best college goaltender (among the best, anyway) has his chances of winning the title this year. But it is not easy to reach the finals, after all.

After all, Lane Hutson, in two years at Boston, has never been in the top-3 rankings for the Hobey Baker. However, he has been in the top-10 during his two college seasons.

In the past, Sean Farrell and Lane Hutson have been the best chances for the Canadiens to see one of their prospects succeed Cole Caufield, who won the award in his second year at Wisconsin.

I do not expect to see Fowler win this year, but seeing him in the top-10 is very realistic. And afterward, a stint in Laval is also a realistic avenue.

In brief

– To consider.

– 800th game in the NHL for Brendan Gallagher tomorrow.

– Things are going to get shaken up.

– Yes, he is right.