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Nick Suzuki propels the Habs to victory with two important goals at the end of the game

During the last game (Sunday afternoon), it was a heated matchup between the Habs and the Florida Panthers.

Both clubs had the opportunity to face each other for a fourth and last time this season, and it promised to be intense with what happened at the end of the game.

Here is the lineup that Martin St-Louis presented for this duel:

On the Panthers’ side, they gave the start to Vitek Vanecek, one of the worst goalies in the NHL statistically.

The game started strong with the Habs buzzing in the offensive zone.

We saw great chances in the first minute from Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, and Lane Hutson.

It was finally Anderson who opened the scoring by redirecting Kaiden Guhle’s shot.

On the goal, Hutson (obviously) collected another assist, which brings his total to 55 assists this season.

He also tied the mark set by Chris Chelios for the most assists collected by a Habs defensemen in his rookie season.

The little defensemen’s dream season continues.

Unfortunately for the Tricolore, six minutes later, none other than Niko Mikkola, the unpopular player, created the tie.

In the first period, we noticed that Mikkola was often booed by the Bell Centre fans.

The fans also got to experience a special moment (and a pleasant one) when Gallagher seemed to have deliberately sent a puck directly at Mikkola.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, as the saying goes.

At the end of the first period, Quebecer A.J. Greer thought he had given the lead to his team, but after review, the goal was finally disallowed because he deliberately “kicked” the puck with his skate.

If the first period was in favor of the Sainte-Flanelle (except for the score, which was 1-1), the second period was dominated by the Panthers, who had 13 shots, compared to only seven for the Habs.

And at the end of the second period, what was expected to happen did… The Panthers took the lead in a powerplay thanks to a goal from Mackie Samoskevich.

After 40 minutes, the score was 2-1 in favor of the visitors.

Like the second period, the third period was in favor of the reigning champions.

When everyone thought the game was over, captain Nick Suzuki brought everyone back to the starting point with nine seconds left in regulation time.

Of course, Hutson had to collect a second assist in the game, his 56th assist and 61st point of the season.

Juraj Slafkovsky also collected an assist.

Heading to overtime:

The miracle scenario that all Habs fans hoped for finally materialized: the Tricolore won their fourth and last game against the reigning champions.

Who else but the captain to propel the Sainte-Flanelle to victory in overtime.

Lane Hutson collected his third point of the game, while Cole Caufield was credited with an assist as well.

 

Martin St-Louis’ team swept their series (in the season) against the Panthers, and it promises well for the playoffs. The Tricolore will be the underdog, but they can certainly cause a surprise.

The Habs’ next game will be on Thursday evening, when the Boston Bruins will visit the Canadiens.

Overtime

– The first line was heavily used by Martin St-Louis during this game. Suzuki, Caufield, and Slafkovsky were used for almost seven minutes each in the first period.

Nick Suzuki spent 23 minutes and 30 seconds on the ice. Lane Hutson was the most used player by MSL with over 26 minutes of ice time.

– Kaiden Guhle was everywhere in the game, especially during the first 20 minutes. But above all, he greatly disturbed the opponent by being at the center of the scrums, when there were any.

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Arber Xhekaj will be traded eventually

Arber Xhekaj has great qualities.

We know him mostly for his robust side and he also has a very heavy shot, but he seems to have refined a few things in his overall game.

However, it wasn’t enough for Martin St-Louis to keep him in the lineup with the return of Kaiden Guhle.

Guhle’s first game was on March 28, a game Xhekaj also played since the habs used 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

But for Sunday’s game against the Florida Panthers, the big defenseman sat out, as was the case for tonight’s game (Tuesday).

Not saying he was atrocious, but no other defenseman deserved to sit out, which makes the choice more logical.

On that topic, during his daily segment on BPM Sports in The Return of the Athletes, Bob Hartley gave his point of view on the future of #72.

According to him, Arber Xhekaj will be traded eventually.

Can you imagine seeing Xhekaj on another team?

Personally, no. In fact, the habs shouldn’t have to face the tough guy, because he would give the team nightmares.

A player of his profile, you don’t want to face him. Even if he’s not the player who will score a lot of goals, his physical aspect is worth a lot.

That’s a bit why I preferred to try him out as a forward next year.

The idea has already been mentioned before and it would be quite logical.

He has improved his defensive game playing alongside David Savard and could be useful on a fourth line.

He could also use his robust game to his advantage and if he drops the gloves, he will do much less harm to his team as a forward.

Losing a defenseman for five minutes is much less profitable for a team than losing a forward for the same duration.

Of course, trying him out on one of the top three lines this season wouldn’t be logical, because the team is in the middle of a playoff run and it’s not the time for the habs to shake up their plans.

The team is doing well and that’s why we should wait until next year’s training camp before seeing him on a bottom-6.

He would then have the chance to play with his little brother, who is having a very good first professional season in Laval.

Overtime

– It’s not good for the Habs, that.

– He’s simply unstoppable. His teammate Alex Tuch also has five goals in his last five games.

– A fight between tough guys.

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Organizations are salivating at the idea that I talk to them about Kaiden Guhle

The Montreal Canadiens have a very interesting core with several other prospects who will arrive soon.

Several transactions made by Kent Hughes have greatly helped to accelerate the rebuild.

However, a rebuild also involves making good choices in the draft and not necessarily very high picks like Ivan Demidov.

We obviously think of Michael Hage, selected 21st overall, who had a very good first season in the NCAA. However, other players drafted during the Marc Bergevin era have also been nice surprises.

Cole Caufield, taken 15th overall, is one example, but there’s also Kaiden Guhle (16th overall) who, despite injuries, proves he can be a defensive pillar.

A big, reliable defender who hits a lot is exciting.

Marc Denis talked about it a bit earlier today.

According to the analyst, Guhle excites all teams:

The impact he has with the club is not to be neglected.

« The fact that he’s back, systematically, he’s back on my top defense pair. » – Marc Denis

Marc Denis took the opportunity to talk about the pair formed by Guhle and Lane Hutson. What they could build together could be incredible.

Not only could they be the Habs’ top defense pair for a long time, but the idea of seeing them establish themselves as an unbeatable duo in the entire NHL is not crazy.

The former goalie also made a small mention of the leadership of #21.

« The leadership he brings, the attitude he has, he’s a captain at heart. I think Kaiden Guhle can have leadership that will resemble Shea Weber. » – Marc Denis

When you think about it, even if it’s a strong comparison, the similarity is there.

Obviously, we’ll have to wait and see what Guhle can bring in terms of leadership before comparing him to Papa Shea, but with what we’ve seen so far, he’s on the right track.

’In

– Very interesting.

– The guys from HFTV were ready to welcome Niko Mikkola, the Habs’ villain.

– The Québécois will continue his university career with Boston University.

– And no, it’s not an April Fool’s joke.

– It’s not just Ryan Leonard who’s making his debut in the NHL tonight.

– To read.

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The most important thing for the Habs with Jacob Fowler is not to create a disturbance

Jacob Fowler may have a chance to return to the NCAA next year. Well.

We can analyze the situation from all sides, but there’s one angle that keeps coming back: it’s more than possible that the Canadiens and the player don’t see eye to eye on what’s to come in the next few days.

In my opinion, it’s clear: Fowler wants to burn a year of contract and the Canadiens want to send him to Laval. We might be wrong, but…

Jacob Fowler has nothing left to learn in the NCAA and he probably knows it. What would really help him progress is playing in the American Hockey League (alongside Jakub Dobes?) in 2025-2026.

And everyone knows that.

The news of the day probably comes from the fact that negotiations are going poorly with the Canadiens. He sees his friends (Ryan Leonard and Gabriel Perreault) signing in the National Hockey League and even if he’s not a forward, he must want to burn a year of contract too.

But there’s the key: Fowler is a goalie. It takes time to develop a goalie and the Rocket’s playoff run would be perfect for his development as a top prospect.

We must remember that Kent Hughes is a patient man when negotiating. We saw it with Jake Evans, notably. #FormerAgent

Right now, he’s probably hoping that Fowler will give in and agree to a stint with the Rocket in the coming days. And Fowler must be hoping that Hughes will give in first.

That’s the downside with NCAA players.

Is it good for the relationship between the club and the player? It might not be too bad… but it’s not necessarily good either. Especially when we know that it’s when we love the most that we hurt the most…

The problem is that we know this kind of situation can lead to a standoff. Rutger McGroarty and Cutter Gauthier left Winnipeg and Philly because they wanted to burn a year of contract.

Will the same thing happen to Fowler? That’s not what I’m saying. But in these circumstances, the question arises.

extension

After all, I don’t think Fowler really wants to return to Boston College as part of a diminished team. A more difficult year is ahead for the university and the goalie has earned the right to move on.

Will he choose to stay in the NCAA for another year (without being paid like a pro) based on the end of the 2024-2025 season alone? Maybe.

But don’t be surprised if the goalie gives in between times… even if it might not happen either.

We should also note that the longer it takes, the more real the risk of him becoming a free agent in 2027 is. If he returns to the NCAA in 2025-2026 and threatens the Canadiens in a year, the club might be forced to trade him to avoid losing him for nothing.

Will all this affect his popularity rating with the fans?

That being said, before concluding that he will definitely return to Boston next year, we’ll wait and see how the next few days unfold. It will be important for what’s to come.

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Beer in hand, Jacob Fowler is at the Capitals game to cheer on Ryan Leonard

Right now, Jacob Fowler is the most popular name in Montreal.

The fact that he is thinking about returning to the NCAA is bad news for the Canadiens and their fans. Clearly, this must be stirring up negotiations with Kent Hughes… #MontréalOuLaval

We will see what happens.

But in the meantime, Jacob Fowler is still in Boston. He is with his teammates from Boston College to watch the game between the Bruins and the Capitals, which is Ryan Leonard’s first career game in the NHL.

He posted a story on Instagram and TV cameras also spotted him.

With a beer in hand, the 20-year-old (he’s 21 in the States, but anyway) is with his friends to cheer on one of their own for the next step. It’s a big moment for them.

After all, just this week, the guys were playing together in the NCAA.

More details to come…

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Without the goals allowed in an empty net, Lane Hutson would have a positive differential

How many times is it repeated, in a season, that a player’s differential is a statistic that includes too many unpredictable factors (and few quick ways to verify them) to take it completely seriously?

A lot, but not too much. We have the perfect example today.

Eric Engels permitted himself the exercise to demystify Lane Hutson’s differential of -9, which constantly serves as an argument for all casual fans of opposing teams who have never watched the Habs’ defender play, to prove that he is “not good in his zone”.

There are two observations, and the first leads directly to the second.

  1. Lane Hutson was on the ice for all the goals that Montreal allowed this season, a total of thirteen
  2. Without empty nets (and the one in favor of the Habs), Hutson would have a positive differential of +3

In the category that counts, namely 5-on-5, Hutson has a record of +6.

Not bad for a one-dimensional defender with a team that wins 46.5% of its games and has given up 26 more goals than it has scored this season… and who plays 22 minutes and 30 seconds per game since the beginning of the year.

Bad news for the Habs’ payroll: Lane Hutson will finish the year with 60 points, while being VERY correct defensively, for a 20/21-year-old defender who measures 5 feet 9.

Good news for the Habs: he risks being good in the blue-red-white for a very, very long time.

Overtime

Another very interesting statistic to take with a grain of salt was published by RDS this morning. The Habs had three sequences where they were the 31st worst team in the league for three sequences (unequal) of games, and two sequences (longer) where they were the 2nd best team in the league.

Okay. The samples are what they are, but they still show that Montreal has lined up two different teams this year. And the bad version arrives at the wrong time…

Let’s hope for a little more consistency in 2025-2026… And let’s wish that the team’s intra-division successes continue.

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File on Jacob Fowler: Beware of comparisons with Jakub Dobes and Cayden Primeau

Jacob Fowler is the subject of the hour, in Montreal. To take the pulse and context of the situation, which seems to be a match of failure/a contractual opinion divergence between the Fowler clan and the Canadiens clan, follow this link.

Reactions are already numerous, and one of them came from Marc Dumont, who wanted to remind that the last two times the Canadiens rushed into the professional ranks “haven’t exactly broken everything in their path”, obviously talking about Cayden Primeau and Jakub Dobes.

I couldn’t help but respectfully disagree with this comment, which I would describe as “a perhaps overly simplistic shortcut “

First, before anything else: let’s compare apples with apples.

Jacob Fowler is a goalkeeper selected in the early third round, 69th overall.

Jakub Dobes was a fifth-round pick, 136th overall, and Cayden Primeau was selected in the middle of the seventh round. Dobes and Primeau were “hyped” through the Montreal media machine, thanks to their stats, but they never had the status of Fowler, who is truly considered one of the best prospects in the league in front of the net.

As of today, Jacob Fowler is 20 years old and was drafted less than two years ago. When he signed his NHL entry contract, Dobes was almost 22 years old and had been drafted three years earlier – and btw, he didn’t break anything in the NCAA at 21 years old. Primeau, on the other hand, is a better example, as he made the jump to the pros at 20 years old.

In fact, if there’s a conclusion to be drawn from these two situations, it’s not that you shouldn’t rush a goalkeeper to the pros, it’s that you might not want to rush a goalkeeper to the NHL.

Primeau, a seventh-round pick, had no business being pitched in the NHL at 20 years old, even if he had an efficiency rate of 0.930 in two years at Northeastern. Dobes, on the other hand, has no business being the Canadiens’ second goalkeeper at 23 years old, in the middle of a playoff run.

Marc Dumont is right when he says there’s little risk in a patient approach, while a quick approach can lead to disaster.

But the fact that the 199th pick in the 2017 draft is the Rocket’s number one goalkeeper at 25 years old is not a disaster; it’s normal.

Now, as for Jacob Fowler, it’s legitimate to want him to be patient before aiming for the NHL. But would it be rushing if he were to make the jump to the pros with the Laval Rocket? Personally, I doubt it.

Overtime

– Paul Maurice throws flowers at Pascal Vincent.

– Some info here:

– Lane Hutson has a new sponsor.

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A decision by the end of the week regarding Oliver Kapanen

No need to refresh your feed for news about Oliver Kapanen, whose agent met with the Canadiens today: confirmation of his return to Montreal or Laval is not expected today.

Nicolas Cloutier, who had reported this morning that a meeting was scheduled for today, provided an update on the file, noting that the Kapanen clan “expects a decision by the end of the week”.

So, we understand that the Habs’ management team will have to agree on a game plan for the 21-year-old Swede.

Clearly, we’re not in a rush or decided, from the Habs’ side. Does this give an indication of the team’s position regarding his return to Montreal?

By the end of the week – we’re already Tuesday evening – Martin St-Louis’ men will have played two more games, and there will only be seven left until the end of the season. Assuming the team won’t throw the young man into the lion’s den (the powerful Flyers) as early as Saturday, considering the time difference, it’s likely he could come and offer support to the Habs for the last six games of the season.

The scenario is exactly the same for the Rocket, which will also play another game on Sunday afternoon, after which there will only be five games left on the schedule.

Everything depends, of course, on the intentions of the club’s management regarding him. Do we want to have him play in Montreal as soon as possible, considering the weakness at the 12th forward position in the big club?

After all, Kapanen recently played playoff hockey and scored 3 points in 6 playoff games in Sweden… as the number one center.

Perhaps that’s an important part of the reflection. Is he the guy we want on the bottom-6 in the playoff run?

In short, whether it’s in Montreal or Laval, the young man has a great opportunity to maintain his momentum and finish his 2024-2025 campaign well, which had started with the Canadiens.

From a logistical point of view, we should see him at the Centre Bell before the Place Bell, simply for the recall economy that Kent Hughes could make by recalling him from his loan rather than using a regular recall with the Rocket.

My colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois has well summarized the situation this noon, if you’re looking for more details on the context. We remind you that the European clause in Kapanen’s contract, a second-round pick (and not a first-round pick), meant that his two options were Montreal or Timra, as long as his Swedish club was alive. With the elimination of the latter, he is eligible for a stint with the Rocket, which is the only team in the North Division to have confirmed its place in the playoffs.

In Overtime

– The Canadiens seem to have turned the corner, but beware, as the Sabres did it two years ago.

– Nice and pranskter, this Nick.

– Matthews on Ovy.

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Jacob Fowler is leaning towards a return to the NCAA

The Canadiens’ fans who were hoping to see young and promising goalie Jacob Fowler in Laval or Montreal in 2025-2026 may be potentially disappointed, according to the latest information from Cam Robinson, of Elite Prospects.

Nothing is official, but Fowler would be leaning towards a return with Boston College, in the NCAA, for a third season as a junior.

;

More details will follow.

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Choice of the Flames: the Sean Monahan transaction is incredible for the Canadiens

I remember the moment the Canadiens went to get Sean Monahan in Calgary. I was working that afternoon on DLC and as soon as the news came out, I said to myself…

Huh? Why?

In the end, that trade turned out to be a real success for the Habs.

It turned out to be a success for several reasons.

1. The Canadiens were able to count on the services of a veteran – who had a significant injury history – for a while. Monahan helped with the young players, allowed some guys to develop, and played his role in the formation of the Canadiens.

He still collected 52 points in 74 games with the Habs.

2. To get rid of the player, the Flames had to give up a first-round pick to the Canadiens. And that pick could pay off big this season. I’ll get back to that.

3. Kent Hughes finally traded Monahan in February 2024, after acquiring him in August 2022. The GM of the Canadiens was able to squeeze out another first-round pick from the Jets, a pick that was used to move up in the draft to select Michael Hage.

Not bad.

But if we go back to the second reason, we need to know that the Flames are likely to finish the season between 16th and 18th in the NHL’s overall standings due to their current position (16th) and the fact that there are only nine games left in their season.

This would allow the Habs to pick up a mid-first-round pick – all because the Flames decided to get rid of Monahan.

If the Flames finish 18th in the NHL’s overall standings, the Habs will (very likely) have the 14th pick in the next draft.

I say “very likely” because the team would still have a 1.5% chance of winning the lottery by finishing 18th in the overall standings. The teams that will finish 16th and 17th in the standings will have a 0.5% chance of winning the lottery.

All this to say that we can expect the Flames’ pick to be between 16th and 18th in the first round.

(Credit: Tankathon)

Kent Hughes pulled off a big move at the end of the summer of 2022 and it deserves attention.

Acquiring two first-round picks for a guy in whom few people believed due to his many injuries… that’s really something.

And it also shows that the Habs’ GM is not afraid to try certain things.

Overtime

– I love it.

– Uh…

– NHL players are so talented.

– Oh yeah?