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Kaiden Guhle practiced with his teammates this morning

Good news for the Canadiens.

This morning, Kaiden Guhle took part in the team’s practice at the Centre Bell ahead of tonight’s game against the Senators.

The defenseman was wearing a jersey that prohibited him from receiving contact, however.

Of course, it’s good to see him progressing.

Renaud Lavoie said yesterday that Guhle could return to the game within three weeks… But we know that ultimately, it will all depend on the Canadiens’ next games.

If the Habs continue to fight for a playoff spot, the addition of the defenseman to the lineup will certainly help.

But knowing that he’s getting better and that his rehabilitation seems to be going well, it’s already a good sign for the organization.

In Laval, there’s also the name of David Reinbacher who has caught attention in recent weeks.

And the reason is simple: the defenseman has missed the Rocket’s last four games due to his knee. The Canadiens want to be cautious with him (and that’s normal), but we were waiting to see the Rocket’s practice today to know if Reinbacher would be there.

Good news: he was – like Guhle – on the ice with his teammates.

Vincent Demuy attended the practice and claims that Reinbacher didn’t seem to be bothered by anything:

Let’s recall that the Rocket has a game scheduled for tomorrow night.

Pascal Vincent’s men will try to maintain their first place in the American League’s overall standings, as the Toronto Marlies will visit Laval.

It remains to be seen if David Reinbacher will be able to participate in the game.

Overtime

– He’s having a good time lately.

– It’s coming…

– News from CF Montreal:

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If Juraj Slafkovsky wants to become Brady Tkachuk, he should play an amazing game tonight

After the break from the Four Nations Face-Off, Juraj Slafkovsky stated that he wanted to draw inspiration from Brady Tkachuk.

In the next game, which was in Ottawa, he did well. And since then, even if his line is among the most productive in the NHL, we don’t systematically see Tkachuk in him.

That being said, he’s been playing well lately.

But tonight, on the heels of a very important game for the Canadiens, Slaf will have to become Brady Tkachuk. After all, the game is against Ottawa, it’s at home, it’s important for the standings – which was less the case last month – and the team must win.

But above all, this time, Tkachuk will be there.

Even if he’s not at 100% of his abilities, Tkachuk will want to do well because his team needs him in the standings, because he doesn’t like the Canadiens, but also because he knows the crowd will be against him.

We all remember his last game at the Bell Centre, last month… #TeamUSA

Notice: I’m not saying Tkachuk will fight from the start of the game against Juraj Slafkovsky, against Arber Xhekaj or against any other player from the Canadiens from the start of the game.

Tkachuk may be able to make his own decisions, but he’s too important on the ice for his team to ask him to take the risk of fighting at the start of the game…

But what I’m saying is that Slaf will have to draw inspiration from his style of play like never before. And it’s not me putting that pressure on him: it’s him who made the comparison with the Senators’ captain in recent weeks.

And if there’s a game where the skates must follow the interviews, it’s tonight’s game.

Overtime

– Obviously.

– Even the Snake is there now.

– That would be something.

– The NHL is returning to Sweden.

– Don’t look for last-minute tickets for tonight’s game hoping to pay a good price.

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Arber Xhekaj is better to be ready: it’s going to be wild tonight

The rivalry between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens is well and truly present among the players of the two teams.

Yesterday, Arber Xhekaj confirmed that the Senators were the team he hated the most. And that’s fitting, since I don’t think people in Ottawa are in love with him either.

And that’s quite right.

It should be felt tonight, on the ice. After all, the Senators will be in Montreal and it’s undoubtedly the most important game of the year – until the next one, of course.

After all, if the Canadiens lose, it will hurt their standings.

(Credit: NHL.com)

We’ve finally reached the point where the team is more than ever #DansLeMix and where the guys can play meaningful games with a view to the playoff race.

And that’s all the better.

In the context of the Canadiens’ “most important game of the season” (the most important game is always the next one, but it’s even more true tonight), we expect it to be intense.

And if there’s one person who needs to step up, it’s Arber Xhekaj. He must imagine that the Senators players are Michael Pezzetta.

After all, without necessarily talking about a fight (although seeing him fight like Brady Tkachuk, who is clearly not at 100% of his abilities, would energize the crowd), he needs to get the team going.

He needs to be in the face of the guys on the other team. And if he ends up on the same ice as Tim Stützle, he’ll have to give him a hard time if he passes through his corner.

The Canadiens, who have been “playing playoff games” for a few weeks, should not be afraid to get physical. And without taking him out of his game, it must notably go through the Sheriff.

To follow tonight.

in rafale

– Fourth line for the CH’s prospect.

– 10:30 am training for the Canadiens.

– Yes, he is a good leader.

– Speaking of the Senators.

– Absolutely.

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Kent Hughes and the word “overpay” : all young players must be on edge

Currently, what’s drawing attention in Montreal is the race for the playoffs.

With the Sabres and the Devils (Jake Allen is still on the Canadiens’ payroll, and it showed, the more mischievous among us would say) who gave a helping hand to the Canadiens, the Canadiens still have more than a five percent chance of making the playoffs this year, mathematically speaking.

If the Montreal Canadiens earn at least one more point than the Rangers tonight, the Canadiens will be in a position to make the playoffs by tomorrow morning. Quite something, isn’t it?

(Credit: NHL.com)

I didn’t have that on my bingo card after the last game before the February break.

To be in a position to make the playoffs tomorrow, the Senators will have to be beaten tonight at the Bell Centre. The Flames will also have to help the Canadiens by beating the Rangers in New York.

In an ideal world, the Red Wings would lose. But if the Canadiens earn at least one point tonight, Detroit won’t be able to surpass Martin St-Louis’ men in the standings tonight.

Will it happen? We don’t know. But even if it does, it doesn’t mean everything, since there’s still a month left in the season.

At this point, apart from minor personnel changes (like recalling someone from Laval, for example) here and there, Kent Hughes can’t do much to help his team this year.

That’s why, as a general manager, his attention is focused on the future, this summer. And the future, as Eric Engels reported yesterday, will likely involve a major trade.

We’re not going to go crazy in the free agent market and give out a big eight-year contract that we’ll regret the moment we give it.

We’re probably more likely to overpay in terms of assets to give to acquire a player. – Kent Hughes

Naturally, it’s interesting to see a general manager talk not about paying, but about overpaying in the market. I know he didn’t say exactly that he wants to overpay, but using that word on his own initiative is certainly a strange choice.

Even if we suspected his mentality, it remains a big confirmation.

It’s clear that to get a major player, it won’t be the Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher, or Jayden Struble of the world who will make the difference in discussions.

Yes, the Canadiens have many options, but several young players must be questioning their future with the team.

Obviously, the Nick Suzukis, Lane Hutsons, and Ivan Demidovs of the world (to name just a few) can sleep soundly, but guys like Logan Mailloux, Joshua Roy, or Michael Hage must be wondering, these days.

And the general manager’s words probably didn’t help.

in passing

– Ridiculous.

– Hats off to Travis Green? Yes. [BPM Sports]

– The Bell Centre is a good argument to convince a player to sign with Montreal. But if the general manager acquires a player through a trade and the player doesn’t have a no-trade clause, it doesn’t change anything.

– Indeed.

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Top-3 : A win for the Leafs that helps Lane Hutson and the Canadiens’ cause

Last night in the NHL, five games were on the schedule.

Two of these games, which have helped the Canadian, have already been summarized by my colleague Félix Forget.

Here are the results and highlights of the three remaining games:

1. The Leafs crush the Flames and Dustin Wolf

This Leafs defeat of the Flames (6-2) means two things.

The first, a Flames loss is good for the Canadian, as they have their first-round pick. It would not be good if the Flames lost too much and finished in the top-10 of the draft, but so far, this scenario seems unlikely.

The second: Dustin Wolf was in the net and allowed five goals on 26 shots. A poor performance by one of the Calder Trophy candidates gives Lane Hutson more chances to win the Rookie of the Year award.

It wasn’t just the Jackets-Devils and Bruins-Sabres games that were important, after all…

In the Leafs’ 6-2 win, Auston Matthews came out of his slump and scored two goals.

Toronto is two points behind the Panthers (with a game in hand) and the first place in the Atlantic. The same applies to Tampa Bay, which was also in action. I’ll come back to that.

The division title will be determined at the finish line.

2. A spectacular stop by Jon Merrill

A rare game with no importance for the CH was played last night.

The Wild hosted the Los Angeles Kings. A former CH player stood out. Jon Merrill – a great forgotten player – made a spectacular stop.

Alex Lafferiere was robbed.

In a 3-1 Minnesota win, Mats Zuccarrello scored the winning goal.

His 100th with the team.

The only goal for the visitors was scored by Adrian Kempe.

3. 39th shutout for Andrei Vasilevskiy

In addition to the Leafs, Tampa Bay was also in action.

The Lightning beat the Flyers 2-0. Shutout with 21 saves for Andrei Vasilevskiy, his 39th career shutout.

Nikita Kucherov took care of the offense.

He had a goal and an assist, including the winning goal.

He was involved in Jake Guentzel’s goal in an empty net.

Final score: 2-0.

Philadelphia remains eight points away from the playoffs.

Overtime

– A fight between men.

– What beautiful uniforms!

– Matthews, William Nylander, and Owen Power lead the charge.

(Credit: NHL.com )

– Nine games on the schedule tonight.

(Credit: Google)
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Race for the series: the Devils and the Sabres helped the CH tonight

For the first time in years, the Canadiens are playing important hockey in March. The team is in a heated playoff race in the East… and the more the days go by, the more fans in Montreal can believe it.

The chances are still relatively slim, but they are increasing more and more.

That being said, it’s also the first time in a few years that the Canadiens need help from other teams to secure the first pick climb the standings. And tonight, we were watching the Devils/Blue Jackets game as well as the Sabres/Bruins game.

The Canadiens especially needed a Devils win, but a Sabres win would also help them.

And they were quite lucky, because the Devils beat the Blue Jackets 2-1 in regulation. We can say a big thank you to Jet Greaves for his helping hand, which led to the Devils’ winning goal.

The Blue Jackets, who had not scored a single goal in their last two games, made it interesting in the third period when Mathieu Olivier scored… but Jake Allen held his ground even though he was bombarded with 23 shots in the third period alone (and 45 in total).

Even though he’s no longer in Montreal, Allen really helped his former team tonight.

In the other game of the night, the Sabres and Bruins went to overtime. For the Canadiens, it’s not optimal… but considering the Bruins are a bit behind in the standings, it’s not the end of the world.

It’s less bad than it would have been if the Blue Jackets had taken their game to overtime, let’s say.

Now, the good news is that the Sabres won in overtime. The Bruins did not get a second point.

During the game, we also saw Jordan Greenway drop the gloves against Nikita Zadorov.

I wonder how Arber Xhekaj, who had spent an entire game trying to invite Greenway to dance (without success), reacted to seeing that tonight.

In short, it was a good night for the Canadiens, even though the team was inactive tonight.

The most important thing, however, is to beat the Senators tomorrow. Because even if other teams can help, the Canadiens must take control of their destiny now.

In Quick Hits

– Speaking of the Devils.

– Mitch Marner: keep an eye on the Hurricanes. They coveted him before the trade deadline and they will be aggressive on the market this summer.

– I like them. And you?

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Dinner at the restaurant: everything is fine between Arber Xhekaj and Michael Pezzetta

This morning, during training, it got heated between Arber Xhekaj and Michael Pezzetta. The two guys had a bit of a scrap… and it ended up getting quite physical.

We know that games are important and that intensity increases in those moments… and we saw it clearly this morning.

Even though it was in the heat of the moment, we were still wondering if all of this would have a lasting impact. Usually, everything gets resolved on the same day, but the Canadiens remain a young team that doesn’t necessarily have a lot of experience in these types of situations.

After practice, however, Xhekaj calmed things down. He told the media that everything was fine between Pezzetta and him, and that they would probably have dinner together tonight.

And as it turns out, in the last few minutes, Pezzetta posted a photo of Xhekaj at the restaurant.

Hats off to the two guys for putting the project to an end, and especially for handling everything professionally. It’s all part of the learning process for a young team that’s learning to play important games late in the season, and they need to learn how to manage that intensity.

And most importantly, avoid letting it linger over time.

Apparently, therefore, all’s well that ends well after the scuffle between the two players this morning. The guys have buried the hatchet, and we can now focus on the main objective: making the playoffs.

Good thing it brought out the best in them, as they say.

In quick succession

– The Canadiens “have confidence” that they’ll be able to sign Ivan Demidov at the end of his season.

– Good read.

– Geoff Molson, the 12th best owner in the NHL. [The Athletic]

– Nick Suzuki is happy that his best friends weren’t traded.

– It’s like a plague in the Bronx.

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Lane Hutson has a better production than Connor Bedard

Among the great stories with the Canadiens this season, Lane Hutson is very high on the list. The defender, who is playing his first full year as a professional, has changed the game for the CH due to his exceptional offensive skills.

There’s a lot of talk about the Calder race in his case… but Hutson is also chasing records, right now. A rookie defender with as many assists, it’s very rare.

Because yes, the defender’s great strength is his ability to score points. He’s not there to be a wall on the blue line (although his defensive game is probably a bit underestimated) : he’s there to get the Montreal attack rolling.

In 66 games this season, Hutson has scored a total of 52 points. That’s an exceptional harvest for a rookie… but it also puts him on an equal footing with a certain Connor Bedard.

And in fact, even if the two have scored 52 points this season, Bedard has a game in hand over Hutson. So the latter has a better production rate than the first overall pick in 2023.

(Credit: HockeyDB)
(Credit: HockeyDB)

Naturally, all this is quite peculiar in the context where Bedard is a second-year attacker and Hutson is a rookie defender. Bedard is a year younger than the CH defender, of course, but it remains something to see Hutson being of the same caliber as Bedard in terms of point production this season.

Especially since Bedard is extremely talented, even if he is part of a terrible team.

Clearly, the CH has a special young player in its hands. We can think that the defender will not be able to match Bedard’s production every year, but this year, he is scoring points at a higher rate.

Have we ever told you that Kent Hughes made a great steal by selecting Hutson at 62nd overall? Because right now, his pick has nothing to envy from a “generational” attacker…

In rapid fire

– Talking about Lane Hutson.

– Let’s hope so.

– Interesting.

– A great moment.

– Wow!

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Second center: Michael Hage could move in a trade, but not David Reinbacher

This summer, Kent Hughes’ mission #1 will be to get a second center. With the club ready to move to the next level and Ivan Demidov arriving in town, it will take help behind Nick Suzuki.

The CH, sooner or later, will no longer have to rely on just one trio. They will need a second center to get there… and no, Kirby Dach can’t be the solution.

The big question, however, is how this will happen. Seeing the GM say he would prefer to use the pieces he already has to improve the team this summer, rather than overpaying on the free agent market, gives an indication of the strategy that will be employed.

But clearly, it will cost a lot. And today, on the airwaves of BPM Sports, Mathias Brunet talked about all this… and he opened the door to seeing Michael Hage be part of that transaction.

However, forget about David Reinbacher: the journalist is categorical that Reinbacher is not going anywhere.

According to a tweet from BPM Sports, Kent Hughes is preparing a big transaction to get a second center this summer. It’s impossible for David Reinbacher to be sacrificed, but Logan Mailloux or Michael Hage could be sacrificed, according to Mathias Brunet.

We know that to give, you have to receive… and Hage, as promising as he is, could be the piece that would encourage a team to let go of a quality center. We can think that in a few years, he might become a top-6 center himself… but the CH needs more immediate help at center.

No one wants to see Hage, a highly promising prospect who dreams of playing for the Canadiens, be traded. However, it’s not a package including Joshua Roy and a 2nd-round pick that will bring in a real top-6 center: let’s recall that the Sabres wanted Cole Caufield or Juraj Slafkovský for Dylan Cozens.

However, Brunet brings up another interesting name in the discussion: Logan Mailloux. He claims that some NHL GMs still see Mailloux as a worthy prospect… and he could be part of the solution in all this.

This is not the first time the idea has circulated… but it will take a GM who is willing to take a chance on Mailloux in return for a top-6 center. Do those GMs still exist?

This will undoubtedly be the topic of the offseason for the Canadiens, who desperately need help behind Nick Suzuki right now. Let’s see how the management will try to fix this.

Talking about all this, it’s interesting to see Michael Hage being the most popular option.

According to a tweet from David Ettedgui, this summer, the Canadiens could push a team to give up an excellent young #2 center to fill their crying need. What would you sacrifice to make this transaction happen?

The interference on the goalkeeper is still being discussed.

According to a tweet from Sportsnet, with the playoffs approaching, the NHL wants to ensure that GMs understand how certain challenges work, with the contentious goaltender interference taking center stage.

The little brother of Macklin Celebrini is not bad either, according to a tweet from BarDown. Macklin Celebrini’s younger brother RJ scores the game winner for the AAA Flyers in the third period of the HPL Hockey Provincial Championship Game.

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Listening to David Savard, it’s really Montreal or retirement in sight for the rest of his career

David Savard is in the last year of his contract.

The 34-year-old veteran will be a free agent as of July 1, and right now, there’s a question about whether he’ll stay in Montreal for the next season.

Will Kent Hughes decide to offer him a new contract? That’s the million-dollar question.

We know that the Quebecer would like to continue his career with the Canadiens.

He enjoys playing here and likes the role he has within the team, especially since he sees the group progressing to the point of being in the playoff race.

But even if he could still contribute to another team, it really feels like it’s Montreal or retirement for him.

Jean-François Chaumont (LNH.com) spoke to him… and let’s just say this quote says a lot:

I still really enjoy playing hockey. But as I said, it will also become a family decision. My kids are getting older, they’re in school. I really like being in Montreal. But I’ll need to know the team’s intentions.

Of course, moving the family to play elsewhere is a big project.

David Savard wants to prioritize his wife and children in his decision, and that’s why he says it will ultimately be a family decision.

It will depend on Kent Hughes’ plan, too.

If the Canadiens’ GM wants to keep him in town in a more minor role because we know the player’s qualities on and off the ice, I tend to believe that Savard will be on board as well.

But if Kent Hughes thinks it’s time to make room for the young players to develop… That will also have an impact on Savard’s decision to hang up his skates or not.

Only time will tell, then.

– It’s tight in the Eastern standings, but also in the Western standings!

– Well done.

– Reinforcements for Philly.

– That’s true.