Lots of changes to the lineup after Sunday’s loss. Joe Veleno is ill and Brendan Gallagher is a scratch to make the math work on the returns of both Kirby Dach and Alexandre Texier. Adam Engström is also in as Kaiden Guhle needs a therapy day.
First period
A difficult opening shift for Engström, who sees A.J. Greer skate around him and he has to haul down the Panthers forward.
Newhook did a nice job on the first PK unit to get a clear, but it was a shooting gallery on Jakub ...
Game 78: Montreal Canadiens vs. Florida Panthers
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Panthers region: SCRIPPS Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
There are five games left for the Montreal Canadiens to play in the regular season, and the next three will be contested at the Bell Centre. Before ending the campaign versus Metropolitan Division opponents, the Habs will face two final division rivals before the playoffs begin. B...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
While teams pluck coaches loaded with experience off the carousel, the longest tenures in the NHL belong to first-time head coaches, with Martin St-Louis included in that group. [ La Presse ]
Mats Naslund thinks it’s good that a Canadiens player is on the verge of having a 100-point season, even if he wants to stay the last player to achieve one. [ NHL.com ]
When Ivan Demidov scored a power-play goal on Saturday night, he was the fifth player ...
First period
The crowd chants “Cau-field!” as Cole steps on the ice for his first shift. When this crowd last saw him, he had 44 goals.
The Devils are checking the Canadiens’ sticks very tightly to start this game, not allowing anyone space to shoot the puck. It’s needed strategy with Jacob Markstrom in net. Montreal will need to work a little harder to test the netminder tonight.
Kaiden Guhle gets his stick in Jack Hughes’s feet as the forward loses the puck on his zone entry...
Game 77: Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Devils region: MSGSN Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Montreal Canadiens sent Jacob Fowler back to Montreal before yesterday’s game in New Jersey so he could sleep in his own bed before playing the Devils in today’s rematch. Fowler’s contributions to the current eight-game winning streak have been three wins including the one versus...
By virtue of the Detroit Red Wings’ loss to the Minnesota Wild this afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens have clinched a playoff spot, set to head to the post-season for the second consecutive season.
With the loss, the Red Wings can now achieve a maximum of 98 points, two fewer than the 100 the Canadiens improved to last night in New Jersey. They were the only team currently outside the playoff picture that had a mathematical possibility to pass Montreal, because the Philadelphia Flyers, wh...
The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (39-34-3) at the Montreal Canadiens (45-21-10) The Time: 7:00 PM EDT The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN; Radio — Devils Hockey Network No Margin for Error I have not believed the Devils could contend for a playoff spot since they lost to Carolina last month, but the out of town […]
Game 77: Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Devils region: MSGSN Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
It wasn’t the way the Montreal Canadiens wanted to do it after getting out to a 3-0 lead last night in New Jersey, but they recovered from allowing three consecutive goals to win the game in a shootout, running their record to a perfect 5-0-0 on the road trip. It was just Montreal’s ...
First Period The New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens traded chances over the first five or so minutes, but both Jake Allen and Jakub Dobes made some good stops. Cole Caufield almost had the Devils beat twice, but he lost the puck after Kovacevic took a swipe at him on the first shift of the […]
First period
Cole Caufield accepts a bank-pass and tries to go across the top of Jake Allen’s crease, but former teammate Johnny Kovacevic makes the stick-check just before he can fire the puck.
Ivan Demidov gets past a couple of players at the defensive blue line to go in on a two-on-one, but can’t see a lane to Alex Newhook to get a pass through. His initial shot gets stopped, but he collects the rebound, curls back to the slot, and gets another shot that deflects out of play.
...
The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (38-34-2) versus the Montreal Canadiens (44-21-10) The Time: 7:00 PM EST The Broadcast: TV — MSG/NHLN; Radio — Devils Hockey Network The Game Preview: I had it here. The Rules: If you have been a reader here, you already know the rules. But for the rest, a reminder: please do not swear […]
Game 76: Montreal Canadiens @ New Jersey Devils
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In the Canadiens region: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVS Sports (French) In the Devils region: MSG Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The hope was that maybe the Montreal Canadiens would win three games on their last long road trip of the season to help hold their place in the standings. They were due to face some top-ranked teams and others that have had Montreal’s number recently, making for a dif...
Brad Treliving was trying to blow up the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of this season's trade deadline. There's been multiple reports floating around that Treliving, who's now fired, was talking with several teams around winger Matthew Knies. The Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens are two of the frontrunners, who had interest, but Treliving was working a very hard bargain. According to Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos, Treliving was asking for two first-round picks and a top prospect in return for ...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
The Canadiens players and coaches are trying to stay inspired by milestone chases for Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, while also trying to stay focused on the team game that has them playing their best hockey. [ La Presse ]
Last year Suzuki was the first Habs player to achieve an 82-point season since Alex Kovalev in 2007-08. This year, three players could hit that mark. [ Radio-Canada ]
Suzuki says it “would be incredible” to win the Selke Tro...
A loss that was actually fine, a draft positioning update, and some real questions about J.T. Miller's leadership—on the same night he was given the Mr. Ranger Award.
First period
It’s really nice to see how aggressively the defencemen attack opponents in the neutral zone. That was the whole point of having a mobile defence, and they’re finally beginning to make use of it.
Jacob Fowler missed the linesman arm going up for an icing and came out to play the puck … right to the stick of a Rangers forward. There are still some things for him to work on.
Juraj Slafkovský escapes his battle in the corner with the puck, but caught Vladislav Gavrik...
Join the in-game conversation with the Blueshirt Banter community by becoming a member today!
Game 75: Montreal Canadiens @ New York Rangers
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Rangers region: MSG Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Canadiens have made a habit of beating some good teams in the last few weeks, getting their defensive game together just in time for a tough portion of their schedule. Tonight it’s a bad club they take on at Madison Square Garden, one of the two in the NHL to be eliminated from playo...
Game 75: Montreal Canadiens @ New York Rangers
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French) In the Rangers region: MSG Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
When the Montreal Canadiens embarked on this road trip, their playoff position was far from secure. Despite a three-game winning streak, they were just four points clear of the ninth-place team in the Eastern Conference. It was apparent that the next five games outside of Montreal were going ...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Jakub Dobeš has taken control of his movements and is getting pretty tough to beat. [ Journal de Montreal ]
Are the Canadiens peaking at the right time to succeed in the playoffs? [ Montreal Gazette | HIO ]
The Canadiens have completly flipped the script on their second period woes. [ Journal de Montreal ]
Looking at who the Canadiens would rather face and avoid as potential first-round playoff opponents. [ TSN ]
Martin St-Louis like...
Every year, as the calendar slowly turns into the month of April, you start to get some real previews of what the NHL playoffs will look like. Tuesday night was one of those previews, with the Montreal Canadiens taking on a likely first-round foe in the Tampa Bay Lightning. It had all the checking and intensity of a playoff game, as the players knew how important the game could be for the final standings, on top of wanting to set the tone for a potential seven-game series to start between them...
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Cole Caufield can become the Montreal player to hit the 50-goal milestone since 1990. [ NHL.com ]
Four years after Martin St-Louis took over as head coach, Habs players now understand exactly what he expects from them. [ Montreal Gazette ]
The Habs are turning to Arber Xhekaj to fill-in for Alexandre Carrier. [ Sportsnet | La Presse ]
A look at the Canadiens’ potential first-round opponents. [ The Hockey Writers ]
Montreal’s goaltend...
Cole Caufield’s second period goal broke a 1-1 tie and Jakub Dobes stopped 36 saves as Tampa Bay’s eight-game point streak comes to an end in a 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Jake Guentzel had the Lightning’s lone goal while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 19 shots, including several big saves early in the third period when the game was 2-1.
Nikita Kucherov was held off of the scoreboard (and had two penalties) in his return to action after missing two games with an illness. Scott Sabouri...
The Montreal Canadiens have some big-time prospects on the way. And two of those top three, David Reinbacher and Adam Engström are quite likely to be lining up on the blueline for the big club next season. With seven d-men already on the active roster, plus those two, that's three too many. Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette says in his latest mailbag that two Montreal defenders are likely in their last days & weeks with the Habs. I wouldn’t be surprised if (Jayden)...
First period
This is an encouraging start from Montreal. They’re quickly moving the puck with support to get out of the defensive zone, and have gotten out to a 3-0 shot advantage in the opening couple of minutes.
Jayden Struble loses body position and reaches out to give himself a boost to correct that. The referee is 20 feet away to see it and call the holding penalty.
Tampa Bay uses the power play to take the lead in shots, but the game remains 0-0. That’s the type of urgen...