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Jakub Dobes received a visit for yesterday’s game: he would have been motivated as a starter

Jakub Dobes is European. But in fact, he has been playing in North America since 2017.

And did you know that the first city he played in in North America was St. Louis? In 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, he played for the St. Louis Blues AAA 18U.

Subsequently, before going to university in Ohio, he played for two years in Nebraska, a state bordering Missouri.

(Credit: Elite Prospects)

What I’m trying to say is that as a European, if there’s a game that could possibly have a kind of “local flavor” to it, it’s a game in St. Louis.

And according to a story published by the person concerned, he had visitors yesterday at the arena. About ten people came to see him on the heels of the habs’ game in St. Louis.

(Crédit: Instagram)

So the question I ask myself is: would he have been motivated by the idea of playing the game yesterday from the first period? He probably would have been, we agree on that.

Would it have made a difference in the game? We’ll never know.

Obviously, right now, we realize that the habs don’t exactly have confidence in Dobes. Is it because of his difficulties in the upper part of the net? Maybe, yes.

But at some point, he has to play.

It’s easy to say with hindsight… but could Dobes have gotten the start yesterday (on the road) knowing he had visitors for a “local flavor” game against a rival that would have brought points in the West in case of defeat?

Because the other element of the answer is that it would have given a rest to Samuel Montembeault. I know a lot of people don’t want to hear it, but Monty, as good as he is, is visibly tired. He has given up five, four, four, and three goals (16 in total) in his last four games.

But right now, it’s useless to look back.

The next step for Martin St-Louis will be to decide how to split the back-to-back games coming up. The game tomorrow will be against the Flyers, a bad team, and the one on Friday will be against the Hurricanes, an excellent team.

Will fatigue come into play? Will the coach want to give the easiest game to Monty to maximize the chances of winning? Will he want to give the easiest game to Dobes to hope to win more often over two days? Will the Quebecer play twice?

The answer in the next few days regarding Monty’s workload, which has been very important this year in town. #VictimOfHisSuccess

Overtime

– Eh ben.

– Hum…

– Wow.

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The Habs organization is already preparing for its (potential) playoff games at the Bell Centre

What a week for my game of podcasting. #FranglaisRepresent

Last night, our episode with Thomas Levac and Philippe-Audrey Larrue Saint-Jacques was posted online. We mainly talk about how it was like the wild west 10 years ago, when you covered the Canadiens in a non-traditional way. Stories and crazy anecdotes are shared…

This morning, our weekly episode of Stanley25 was also published on YouTube, Spotify, and other podcasting platforms. Special this week: I wasn’t wearing a hat or cap…

I think this will be the only time in Stanley25 history.

For this 29th episode – the ninth of season 3 -, we were able to get out a few little exclusives.

1. The towels that would be given to each fan during a potential playoff game at the Centre Bell are ready. I wonder what the Canadiens will do with these playoff 2025 towels if the team doesn’t make the playoffs.

I imagine they are nicer than the old version used several years ago, back when we made the playoffs more often in Montreal.

Older version of a “Go Habs Go” towel.
(Credit: eBay)

2. The female ushers at the Centre Bell who learned they were losing their job a few minutes before last Tuesday’s game found out in a disrespectful way. Some had trouble doing their shift and several are panicking since. To learn about the behind-the-scenes of these layoffs and this situation that has a lot in common with the closure of Amazon’s Quebec warehouses, it’s this way:

3. I was surprised to learn last week that a traditional Quebec media outlet that receives a lot of subsidies and public donations is paying for a loge at the Centre Bell. According to my research, a loge at the Centre Bell costs $400,000 per year… not including food and alcohol. Is it justified to close deals there? Is it socially acceptable? I asked Jean:

We also talked about the customer experience at Place Bell, the sponsors who are now chasing Juraj Slafkovsky, Brendan Gallagher’s dedication, Lucie Lachance’s generous gesture, another altruistic gesture by the Saputo family, and Ivan Demidov’s upcoming weeks.

Enjoy the video!

Extension

I told you at the beginning that this week was a big one for my podcasting game.

Here’s the rest:

– On Friday morning, we’ll post an interview with Justin Kingsley, the man behind the rebrand (abandoned) of CF Montreal/Impact Montreal. I promise you a lot of emotions. Note that the interview is already available for Patreon subscribers of the podcast.

– Next Monday, our appearance on the set of Hockey30 will be posted on their platforms. On the menu: some anecdotes, tough questions… and tension.

– The following week, our appearance on the Poolcast (HabsolumentFan) will be uploaded.

– And of course, we’ll continue our weekly adventure with Stanley25 through all this.

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Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier : on the ice for four goals by the Blues yesterday

Yesterday, when looking at the state of the Canadiens’ defense (a team officially in reconstruction at the moment), we realize it’s divided into three different parts.

First, there’s Lane Hutson and Jayden Struble. The two have been used a lot by their coach and are the only two defensemen on the team who finished the game with a positive differential. This is really noteworthy.

And obviously, Lane Hutson got an assist on Nick Suzuki’s goal. At that point in the game, it was an important goal since it allowed the Habs to tie the game.

David Savard and Arber Xhekaj, on the third pair, didn’t do too badly. In 15 minutes of play, the guys were on the ice for just one goal at even strength for the Blues.

Savard and Struble were there for the sixth goal, but it was on the powerplay.

So, the first pair was on the ice for the Blues’ other four goals. Alexander Carrier and Mike Matheson finished the evening with a -4 differential each.

This isn’t my favorite statistic… but when it’s extreme, it means something.

This doesn’t mean the guys were to blame for all the Blues’ goals. But it does mean the first duo, who face the toughest opponents, wasn’t as solid as usual.

I imagine Matheson knows he was far from the action on the Blues’ fifth goal.

Yesterday’s game doesn’t make me reconsider Matheson’s importance in the team (even if a lot of people like him less than last year), but it does make us say this: when these two guys let in goals at a rate like we’ve never seen this season, it hurts the Habs.

Lane Hutson can’t take on too much defensively and the third pair can’t eat up a lot of minutes.

The way the lineup is currently constructed, if Matheson and Carrier don’t have their best game, the Canadiens will struggle. And yesterday was the ultimate proof.

The return of Kaiden Guhle will do some good, you say? Obviously.

Overtime

– Note to baseball fans.

– Big game for the Islanders tonight in the playoff race.

– Playoff chances: the Habs at 43.6% this morning. [MP]

– Good listening.

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The game yesterday was not “fertilizer” : it was crap

Last night, the Canadiens lost to the Blues. It ended 6-1 and it was tough to watch as a game.

For the second time since the return of the Confrontation of the four nations, the club did not get any points in the standings. It is therefore this morning at 75 points in 70 games.

Luckily for Martin St-Louis’s men that the other clubs in the race also lost last night.

(Credit: NHL.com)

The problem is that the habs, who have mastered the art of overcoming deficits in recent weeks, got burned in Saint-Louis. The start of the game was so bad that going for the win had become impossible.

Yes, the club will have to start its games better.

That being said, it is important to mention that despite the importance of the moment, the head coach did not panic. Martin St-Louis used an analogy to talk about the fact that the Canadiens did not completely fail.

In his eyes, last night’s game was not a failure: it was fertilizer.

 

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A post shared by RDS (@rds)

This being said, you know as well as I do that manure is a good fertilizer. And since last night’s game was manure, I think we are entitled to say that coach is right.

There is a nuance between not panicking, which is correct, and saying that last night’s game was not a failure. But at the same time, St-Louis has defended his club all year and the guys are still in the playoff picture: he knows what to say to get the best out of them.

It is clear that the coach did not panic since his handling of the Samuel Montembeault file leads us to believe that he did not want to deviate too much from his basic game plan.

Did he think that what was happening was not Monty’s fault and that a change would not have an effect? Did he simply not have confidence in Jakub Dobes, whose top of the net is a problem? I don’t know.

Of course, we agree that it took St-Louis a long time to make a move. He could have changed goalies after the Blues’ third goal. He could have done it after the Blues’ fourth goal. He could have done it after the second period.

He did it after the Blues’ fifth goal, in the middle of the third period. The game was then well and truly over.

It wasn’t necessarily Monty’s fault, but last night, the Canadiens needed a change of air in front of their net. It is also clear that the Canadiens’ goalie is tired at the moment since his workload is intense in the playoff race.

This being said, it remains that Monty surely did not enjoy losing to Jordan Binnington like that… #TeamCanada

overtime

The Canadiens will practice at lunchtime (12:30, Saint-Louis time) before heading to Philly for tomorrow’s game against the very powerful Flyers.

Who will be in front of the net tomorrow?

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Top-5 : Loss of the Senators, the Rangers, the Red Wings, the Flyers and the Penguins

We’re going to agree on one thing.

The Habs didn’t really have a big game last night in St. Louis.

But in the playoff race in the East, all the other teams lost too… :

1 : A good night despite everything

The Habs lost 6-1 to the Blues, but they can still breathe easily.

After all…

  • The Senators lost 3-2 to the Sabres
  • The Flyers lost 7-2 to the Leafs
  • The Rangers lost 3-1 to the Kings
  • The Red Wings lost 5-2 to the Avalanche
  • The Penguins lost 6-1 to the Lightning

All these games ended in regulation. This means the Habs are still in the last playoff spot this morning:

(Credit: )

The Habs are lucky lately because the other teams in the playoff race are not taking advantage of it.

But they will have to start winning again if they want to really participate in the spring dance…

2 : Only 6 left…

Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals were in Winnipeg last night.

And guess what?

The Capitals’ captain scored his 36th goal of the season in his team’s 3-2 loss.

Ovechkin now has 889 goals since the start of his career.

He is only six goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record… and the Capitals have 11 games left to play before the end of the season.

Will we witness history before the end of the season? To be continued…

3 : The Jets are qualified

I just said it: the Jets beat the Capitals 3-2 last night.

But it was an important game for the Winnipeg team.

Nikolaj Ehlers’ overtime goal allowed the team to qualify for the playoffs:

The Winnipeg team becomes the first Canadian team to get their ticket to the playoffs.

It’s well-deserved because the Jets (49-19-4) are having a great season.

I’m looking forward to seeing them in the playoffs…

4 : Jack Eichel has fun against Marc-André Fleury

Jack Eichel’s season has been relatively quiet.

But the Golden Knights star reminded everyone last night that he is one of the best players in the league.

He reached the 90-point plateau this season with three goals.

Eichel helped the Golden Knights beat the Wild and Marc-André Fleury 5-1.

It’s going well for the Knights, who have now won four consecutive games.

5 : 100 points for Kuch

Nikita Kucherov is perhaps the most talented Russian player of all time.

Why do I say that?

Because the man is a point-scoring machine.

He scored once and had two assists against the Penguins to reach the 100-point plateau for the third consecutive season:

Kucherov is now second in the league’s scoring race with 101 points, tied with Leon Draisaitl.

Nathan MacKinnon is alone at the top with 107 points since the start of the season.

But note that not everything went perfectly for Kucherov last night in the Lightning’s 6-1 win over the Penguins.

The Bolt star may have to go to the dentist today… because he lost teeth after colliding with the net:

Overtime

— Wow.

— Drouin is on fire.

— Big night at the office.

— 40 goals for Nylander.

— Well done.

— Nice goal.

— It’s heating up.

— Big win for the Flames.

— What a save!

— The top scorers of the night:

(Credit: NHL.com)

— Four games tonight in the NHL:

(Credit: Google)
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The Blackhawks and the Blues might be interested in Christian Dvorak this summer

You know the season is going well when several people are talking about signing Christian Dvorak.

The question is no longer: “when will the center leave?”, but “will he stay?”

After all, the guy is worth his weight in gold. He is the only left-handed center on the team and, in the NHL, he is among the elite in the face-off circle. Nicolas Cloutier (TVA Sports) has listed some statistics and Dvorak is really doing well among the centers in the NHL.

(Credit: TVA Sports )

If he were to leave, he would leave a big hole in the habs’ lineup.

Young centers are growing in the organization, but they won’t do the job that Dvorak does in the short term. But how much would a guy like him cost? In Cloutier’s article, the journalist compared the Montreal center to Alex Kerfoot.

On March 5, the center of the Utah club signed a one-year/$3 million contract. This is a fairly logical comparable, but I don’t think Dvo will settle for a one-year contract. He is in his prime and, without having had an extraordinary season in terms of statistics, he has shown some value.

I think his agent and he will look more towards a three- or four-year deal. If these are his demands, Kent Hughes will let him go. Moreover, Cloutier claims that the Blackhawks and Blues could offer him such a contract.

Dvorak, the habs’ number 28, grew up in Palos Heights, a city 30 or 40 minutes from Chicago, and he played minor hockey there. His agent, Kevin Magnuson, is also well known in the region.

Chicago needs depth at center and good veterans to surround their young core. Moreover, the team won’t be afraid to spend; they have to reach the salary floor…

The St. Louis Blues, in Missouri, are also to be considered due to their geographical proximity to Dvo’s hometown. To be continued. One thing is certain, he should test free agency on July 1st.

Overtime

– To read.

– What a scorer!

– A nice plateau for the Québécois.

– Ottawa loses in regulation.

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50 goals for Caufield, 100 points for Suzuki: it’s possible, believes JiC

Right now, all players on the Habs are playing good hockey, even the best hockey of their professional careers.

In the case of the team’s two best forwards, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, they will beat their record for points in a season. In the case of Caufield, he has already beaten his record for goals in a season.

But what is their ceiling? On the “Le Colisée” segment at TVA Sports, JiC and Tony Marinaro discussed the topic.

The two hosts like what they see from the duo, and both agree that when the Habs make it to the Stanley Cup finals, the two will be on the top line.

Lajoie and Marinaro also drew comparisons with Robert Thomas, a center of the same caliber, same side, same age, and extremely similar production to Suzuki. According to them, the Habs’ captain has a higher ceiling than Thomas, and they’re not just saying that “because they’re in Montreal”.

Last year, the Blues’ prospect collected 86 points in 82 games. He may have missed a few games in 2024-2025, but the guy still has a point per game (60 in 60). Anyway, the journalists believe Suzuki will have a better season than Thomas.

So, is his plateau 90 points for the Habs’ center? Maybe. In any case, it should become the norm.

Marinaro even goes so far as to ask: “can Cole become a 50-goal scorer and Nick a 100-point player?” His colleague believes it’s possible. With a better team surrounding them and an even more dominant powerplay, Marinaro doesn’t see how the two won’t improve further.

But 50 goals for one and 100 points for the other is a lot of points. I’d like to share their optimism, but I have my reservations.

Overtime

– To listen.

– Ah yes?

– Will fatigue eventually catch up to Samuel Montembeault? [BPM Sports]

– 4 of the top 32 prospects for the next draft are Québécois, according to Craig Button. [TVA Sports]

– The Sabres are booing their own player.

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The success of the Blues could open the door to several offer sheets

Seeing Marc Bergevin try to “steal” Sebastian Aho from the Carolina Hurricanes by taking advantage of the franchise’s financial issues, only to see the opposing GM retaliate with a revenge operation by offering a disproportionate contract to the former third overall pick of the Canadiens… It doesn’t give many people the desire to repeat the experience.

And that’s even if the Canadiens didn’t do too badly with a first-round pick (which might have been better used somewhere else than on Christian Dvorak) and a third-round pick that became Adam Engstrom. KK isn’t burning up the league either.

On the other hand, seeing Doug Armstrong steal a 23-year-old forward who scored 58 points in 72 games and a top-4 defenseman at 23 from the Stanley Cup finalists, in exchange for a second-round pick and a third-round pick… That can be tempting.

This is what Mathias Brunet pointed out in his column setting the stage for the Canadiens-Blues game, on BPM Sports.

“I have the impression, because it’s Armstrong, a highly respected guy in the business, that there will be a lot more on the offer sheet market this summer.”

– Mathias Brunet

Martin Lemay responds, with reason, that the increase in the salary cap may counterbalance the ambitions of NHL GMs, considering that teams have been “at the throat” since the pandemic. After all, if they had $7 million in cap space, the Oilers would have matched.

The Blues have been talked about a lot today on BPM. Bob Hartley was also asked if the Blues under Jim Montgomery would repeat the exploits of those under Craig Berube.

One thing is certain, the recent streak by St. Louis comes with nuances. Of the team’s last 13 wins, 8 were against clubs that are now far from the playoffs. However, they did beat Washington and Colorado last month. They have, however, lost to the Oilers, Panthers, Jets, and Stars.

The Canadiens, since the 4 Nations, have a record of 4-1-3 against playoff teams and a record of 4-0-1 against non-playoff teams.

Overtime

– A modern scoring machine.

– The commissioner’s response!

– Stefon Diggs is leaving with the Pats.

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Michael Hage confirms he will not play in Montreal next year

It was an open secret, and it’s now confirmed: the Canadiens’ prospect Michael Hage will be back with the University of Michigan, in the NCAA, in 2025-2026.

This was confirmed by the young man himself in an interview with Marco D’Amico, who shared this information a few minutes after completing the interview. There is no more ambiguity or room for debate, it’s decided and set in stone. He wants to win the championship, he said.

Hage’s season, as a rookie in the Big-10, came to an end last Friday night when Cornell won its game against Quinnipiac to secure a spot in the Frozen Four, at the expense of Michigan.

The head coach of Michael Hage had also stated, in February, that his player needed to continue dominating at this level before making the leap to the NHL.

The year of the big leap, for him, should theoretically be 2026-2027. We’ll see where he’ll be in his development at that time, but the trajectory of his young career suggests that he could possibly be the eventual second-line center sought by the Habs. At just 18 years old, the right-handed center drafted 21st overall has scored 13 goals and 21 assists, for 34 points in 33 games.

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Best career among players 25 years old and under: Reinbacher ahead of Caufield on the Snake’s list

The Montreal Canadiens have the luxury of being able to count on good young players. There are already guys in place, but there are others coming in too.

In the recent episode of Processus, the Snake had fun building a list of the “best players under 25” within the organization, but it’s mostly related to the career they will have respectively.

The list was not only created in relation to the players’ talent: the Snake ranks each of the guys with their potential and with the career they will have. The nuance is important.

The Snake ranks Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, and Nick Suzuki in his top 3. He wouldn’t have placed Hutson in 2nd place before the start of the season, but after seeing how good he is, his way of thinking has changed.

But it’s mostly the middle of the ranking that interests me because he places Slaf, Reinbacher, and Caufield in 4th, 5th, and 6th place on his list.

For the Snake, Reinbacher will be more useful than a guy like Caufield because he can do several things on the ice:

If Reinbacher becomes a better player than Cole Caufield, the Habs will have a very good defenseman in their hands.

Because in fact, Cole Caufield is already part of the National League’s elite. The Habs’ #13 is tied for 11th place (with Alex DeBrincat) among the best scorers in the NHL, and his points-per-game pace (0.88) is more than interesting since the start of the season.

But it also partly shows that David Reinbacher has great potential.

The defenseman has not been able to progress as he would have liked since the beginning of the last season because he has been a bit unlucky. It was painful in Kloten because the team was bad, and he got injured even before the 24-25 season began.

But since his return to the game, we can see how talented he is to help the Habs in the future. That’s why Simon Boisvert placed him so high on his list, and I agree with him on that level.

Note, in conclusion, that Michael Hage (7th), Jacob Fowler (8th), Kaiden Guhle (9th), and Alex Newhook (10th) complete the Snake’s ranking.

Again, I have trouble finding anything negative in his ranking.

Overtime

– The video is perfect.

– I wouldn’t change anything.

– He’s so underrated.

– It won’t have taken long.