Browsing: Canadiens

Another set of back-to-backs for the St. Louis Blues, and another set of wins.

The road trip started with a thud Thursday against the Boston Bruins, but the Blues followed up a Joel Hofer masterpiece 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday with another tough one on Sunday.

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And it was Brayden Schenn and Dylan Holloway that hoisted the team on their shoulders, each collecting three points, with Schenn scoring twice with an assist – including the game-winner in the third period – and Holloway adding a goal and two assists as the Blues took down the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3, at Bell Centre in Montreal.

Pavel Buchnevich also scored, and Jordan Binnington made 23 saves for the Blues (11-12–7), who now play five of the next six on home ice after taking four of six points on this three-game road trip through the Eastern Conference and scoring more than two goals for just the second time the past 12 games.

It’s the second straight weekend that the Blues have taken both ends of back-to-back games, winning 4-3 against the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 28 and 1-0 against the Utah Mammoth on Nov. 29.

Letâ€s get to the game observations:

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* Schenn, Holloway delivered with major components out of lineup – The Blues have already been down three players (Jimmy Snuggerud, wrist; Alexey Toropchenko, leg burns; and Nathan Walker, upper-body) and and theyâ€ll have to do without Jordan Kyrou, who departed early in the first period Saturday with a lower-body injury.

Who was going to step up for a team already challenged on the offensive side of the puck?

Each was instrumental and worked well as a unit with Mathieu Joseph on their line, combining for seven points.

Schenn opened the scoring with a power-play goal when old friend Zack Bolduc was in the box for slashing at 7:59, and Schenn made it count when he was in the right spot inside the right circle when Holloway worked the puck off the lefthand boards to the point, and Cam Fowlerâ€s wrister caromed off Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson right to Schenn, who made no mistake beating Jakub Dobes at 8:57:

And the winner by Schenn was crucial, because with the Blues holding a 3-2 lead in the third period, and they were maintaining it well through the first half of the period, his insurance goal at the time made it 4-2 with all three linemates having a hand in it.

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With a puck in the neutral zone, Josephâ€s hustle play disrupted Canadiens forward Joe Veleno from getting to the puck, allowing Holloway to race in, scoop it up and essentially turn it into a mini 2-on-1, feeding Schenn for a one-timer to the near post past Dobes:

It was critical because the Canadiens would pull to within one late on Noah Dobsonâ€s goal at 16:15 but the Blues were able to thwart any chance by the Canadiens to tie, although Cole Caufield had a chance at the buzzer that was denied by Binnington:

But with Kyrou down, Schenn and Holloway stepped up big time for an offense that has obviously been scuffling.

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The entire line worked well together and was a threat on multiple occasions for the few scoring chances the Blues created, finishing with only 18 shots on goal.

Schenn, who has 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 32 career games against Montreal, had his first three-point game since also scoring twice and adding an assist Nov. 30, 2023 against the Buffalo Sabres in a 6-4 win.

But that trio led the way.

Not only did Holloway have a three-point night, but he also helped save a goal in the second period when Binnington was without a stick, on another old friend, Alexandre Texier:

* Quick strike second – The Blues had to be feeling down a bit after surrendering the lead late in the first on Caufieldâ€s quick strike with 57 seconds remaining in the period, the sixth time the Blues have allowed a goal this season in the final minute of a period to fall behind 2-1:

It’s the sixth time this season the Blues have allowed a goal in the final minute of a period, even getting the attention of Blues great Chris Pronger:

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But they didnâ€t allow it to affect them, scoring twice in 39 seconds to take the lead for good.

Holloway and Schenn combined on the tying goal at 2-2 on a heads-up play by Colton Parayko springing the two forwards loose with a pass through the neutral zone after Jayden Struble got caught pinching high, leaving Lane Hutson to fend the 2-on-1. Schenn fed Holloway, who pulled it to his backhand and lift it over Dobes 26 seconds into the period. Holloway got behind Texier on the play.

And Buchnevich made it 3-2 at 1:05 when the Blues had a good forecheck and cycle of the puck along the righthand side and wall, with Justin Faulk getting the puck to Robert Thomas below the goal line and he found Buchnevich at the top of the crease for the finish:

The Blues (minus-16) and Canadiens (minus-13) each came into the game with two of the worst goal differentials in the second period but winning it 2-0 on those two quick strikes served St. Louis well and enabled them to take the lead into the third period.

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* Binnington follows Hoferâ€s exceptional outing with a strong one of his own – He didnâ€t nearly see as much rubber as Hofer did on Saturday (42 shots), but Binnington was looking to build off what the Blues have for the most part been getting from their goaltending position.

Not only did he have to be on the spot to deny a Caufield chance at the horn, but Binningtonâ€s best save was when he kicked out the left pad to deny Canadiens Russian phenom Ivan Demidov, not once but twice:

Should the Blues be able to get their goaltending back in a groove, and itâ€s been trending in that direction, they will undoubtedly win more hockey games.

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* Mailloux, Bolduc meet for first time – Since the 1-for-1 trade on July 1, Blues defenseman Logan Mailloux and Canadiens forward Zack Bolduc had been waiting for this game from the moment the deal was made.

Mailloux was on the ice when Hutson got behind him for the tying goal at 12:20 of the first when it tied the game 1-1, and Bolduc was in the box when Schennâ€s goal initially gave the Blues the lead:

But Mailloux finished the game an even on the plus-minus, playing 15:35 with two hits and two blocked shots, and Bolduc had an assist on Hustonâ€s goal and was a plus-1 in 13:21.

Neither 22-year-old hurt their teams on this night, and each had a decent game. Now, can we put the trade comparisons in the rear view mirror once and for all?

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* Things got a little hairy late – The Blues were doing a good job protecting that two-goal lead until the final 3:45 got dicey when Dobsonâ€s shot from distance made it 4-3.

You could see Binnington wasnâ€t thrilled when Faulk skated right through his line of vision and he lost sight of the shot off the left hand wall. I donâ€t get why D-men do that to their goalies in those situations unless youâ€re 100 percent certain youâ€re blocking the shot. Otherwise, youâ€re taking away the line of vision of the goalie, like Faulk did there:

But the Blues only surrendered three shots and blocked two (Faulk and Broberg) down the stretch to finish the job.

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The NHL announced Saturday the teams will face off in the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Winnipeg’s Princess Auto Stadium.

The event set for Oct. 25, 2026, marks the league’s eighth Heritage Classic and first since 2023.

Winnipeg will host its second outdoor showcase after falling to the Edmonton Oilers at the home of the CFL’s Blue Bombers in October 2016 before a crowd of 33,240. The Jets are 1-1-0 all-time in regular-season outdoor games. Winnipeg defeated the Calgary Flames in overtime at the 2019 Heritage Classic in Regina.

Montreal, which will skate in its fifth outdoor game and first in nine years, is 2-2-0 in four contests in the elements. Montreal defeated Edmonton in the 2003 Heritage Classic in the Alberta capital and fell to the Flames in Calgary in 2011.

The Canadiens played in the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day 2016, defeating the Boston Bruins in Foxborough, Mass. The Canadiens also topped the Senators in Ottawa at the NHL100 Classic in 2017.

“When Winnipeg hosted the Heritage Classic in 2016, we were blown away by the amazing fan response and how great the venue was,” Steve Mayer, the NHL’s president of content and events, said in a statement. “Given the success the Jets have had since we were last there, it’s fitting to bring another outdoor spectacle to Winnipeg.”

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Earlier this week, news that the Winnipeg Jets would host the Montreal Canadiens at Princess Auto Stadium on October 25, 2026, leaked online after a post on the Jets†official website announced the event, only to be taken down. Clearly, the league wasnâ€t ready to announce the news, but it is indeed happening.

Itâ€s been quite a few years since the Canadiens played outdoors. The last time they did it was in the leagueâ€s NHL 100 Classic back in 2017 when they took on the Ottawa Senators at Lansdowne Park. In front of 33,959 fans, the Habs were shut out 3-0 by the Sens. The temperature at puck drop was minus eleven Celsius, and it got colder as the game went on. Montreal was outshot 38-28 and could only win 29% of the faceoffs. Carey Price, who was making his 10th consecutive start, played well, but he couldnâ€t score any goals.

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The Habs†performance was a stark contrast with the 2016 Winter Classic in Foxboro, where the visiting Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 5-1. Brendan Gallagher was one of the stars of the game, putting up a goal and an assist in what was his return to action after missing 17 games because of two broken fingers, which needed surgery. Paul Byron (2), David Desharnais, and Max Pacioretty had scored the other goals, but it was the then 23-year-old who had sparked the Habs to life. Even more impressive was the fact that the Canadiens were without star goalie Price and that Mike Condon, a Holliston, Massachusetts native, was manning the net.

At the Canadiens†practice on Friday, the winger was asked about the upcoming Heritage Classic by RDS†Luc Gelinas and was surprised to hear about it:

Awesome, it will be nice and warm, he said with a big grin, before adding: Thatâ€s great, thatâ€s a lot of fun. I still remember those games, some of the most fun hockey games; it reminds you of your childhood experiences, so Iâ€m excited for these guys to experience it.

– Gallagher on the upcoming Heritage Classic

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The veteran also recalled that when the Canadiens played the first Heritage Classic in Edmonton in 2003, he had tickets to the game, but his dad decided he should go with his team to Fort McMurray to play their game rather than go watch. His team had won by 15 or 16 goals; Iâ€m not sure they needed us there. He laughed it off, adding that his decision might have been motivated by the extreme cold that day.

The game was held to commemorate the Edmonton Oilers‘ 25th anniversary in the NHL and the 20th anniversary of their first Stanley Cup win, in front of 57,167 fans at Commonwealth Stadium. In a polar-temperature game, the Habs won a 4-3 thriller in which Jose Theodore saved 34 of 37 shots and famously wore a toque over his mask.

Eight years later, the Sainte-Flanelle took on the Calgary Flames at McMahon Stadium in Alberta and were shut out 4-0 by Mikka Kiprusoff. Funnily enough, soon-to-be Hab Rene Bourque had scored two of the four goals while Alex Tanguay, a former Hab, also scored.

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The Canadiens have a 2-2-0 record in outdoor games and will be hoping to win a third match in Winnipeg next October. One has to wonder if the NHL will ever give the Habs a chance to play an outdoor home game, but for now, theyâ€ll have to make do with being the road warriors.

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Talk continues to build around Winnipegas the likely host for the NHLâ€s next Heritage Classic, and new rumors suggest the Winnipeg Jets may face the Montreal Canadiens if the event is officially approved. Nothing has been confirmed by the league, but speculation has intensified in recent days as the NHL considers bringing back its outdoor game series.

The rumors around the event began on the October 22 edition of Hockey Night in Canada. During the weekly headlines segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told host Ron MacLean that the league was looking at reviving the Heritage Classic and that Winnipeghad emerged as a strong candidate. Friedman did not expand further but said, “looks like thereâ€s going to be one next year and the whispers from out west is that Winnipeg is going to be a serious contender to host it.â€

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Since then, Winnipeghas consistently appeared as the expected host city, though no official announcement has been made, and the opposing team remains unconfirmed. Recent unverified reports point to the Montreal Canadiens as the likely opponent for the Jets, but neither the NHL nor either club has commented on the speculation.

If selected, Princess Auto Field, the home stadium of the CFLâ€s WinnipegBlue Bombers, would be the venue. The stadium previously hosted the 2016 Heritage Classic when the Jetsmet the Edmonton Oilers. Winnipeg lost that game 3-0, with Edmonton led by a young Connor McDavid who recorded an assist.

The Jetslast appeared in a Heritage Classic in 2019 in Regina, where they defeated the Calgary Flames in overtime at Mosaic Stadium. That win evened Winnipegâ€s outdoor game record at one victory and one loss.

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Winnipegâ€s history of hosting large events and its strong fan base have kept the city in regular consideration for NHL outdoor games. The league typically confirms Heritage Classic details several months in advance, and for now the possibility of a Jets–Canadiens matchup remains only a rumor but a potential exciting matchup for a standalone event.

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After Wednesday nightâ€s game against the Winnipeg Jets, the Montreal Canadiens announced that they had sent Florian Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom back down to the Laval Rocket.

The two players were healthy scratches for the game, and given that the Rocket has a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday against the Belleville Senators, while the Canadiens have a day off on Thursday, sending them down last night made sense. Theyâ€ll get to practice with Pascal Vincentâ€s team on Thursday before taking on Belleville on Friday.

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In five games, Xhekaj put up one point, took four shots, spent seven minutes in the penalty box, had a minus-one differential and landed nine hits. As for Engstrom, he played two games, was held off the scoresheet, took two shots and landed a hit.

This means that Jarred Davidson, who played on Wednesday, remains with the Canadiens for now at least. The 23-year-old has now played six games with the Habs and has yet to register a point, but he has landed 13 hits, spent six minutes in the sin bin and has a minus-two differential.

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While the news will no doubt come as a disappointment for Xhekaj and Engstrom, it makes sense to send them back down if theyâ€re not going to play. At this stage of their career, they are still developing and need as much ice time as possible.

It will be interesting to see how things unfold for the Canadiens now. Over the last couple of weeks, there have been so many scouts at the Bell Centre that one can wonder who they might have been observing. Did the Canadiens want to show what Engstrom could do at the NHL level? Or were they taking stock in readiness for the decisions that will no doubt have to be made about the blueline sooner or later?

When everyone is healthy, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble share the sixth defenseman role, but when youngsters from Laval are ready for the NHL, someone will have to be moved. David Reinbacher and Engstrom are both close to being NHL-ready, and when they are, something will have to give.

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After a disappointing loss against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, Martin St-Louis decided to go back to the drawing board for the second game of the back-to-back, and it was with different lines that his Montreal Canadiens took on the Winnipeg Jets. Before puck drop, the organization took the time to honour former blueliner Andrei Markov, a man who bled red, white and blue, but weâ€ll discuss this in a separate article.

Unimpressed by his teamâ€s defensive play against Ottawa, the coach felt it was time to make some adjustments to maximize his chances of having effective five-man units on the ice at all times. Juraj Slafkovsky was back with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, while Zachary Bolduc went from the top line to the fourth one. As for Brendan Gallagher, he was back with Jake Evans and Josh Anderson, while Alexandre Texier got a first top-six look. As for Florian Xhekaj, he made way for Brandon Davidson, who completed a line with Joe Velenon and the aforementioned Bolduc.

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Jakub Dobes was back in the net on Wednesday night, and the way he handles himself between the pipes is quite different from that of Samuel Montembeault. Heâ€s clearly more confident and moving much better. Even if itâ€s not always elegant, his desperation dive to one side after colliding with Jonathan Toews was spectacular. While he arrived before the shot, he still managed to recover and freeze the puck when it fell in the crease.

His glove hand is sharp, and he doesnâ€t have the same issue as the Becancour native when it comes to long-range shots. His puck tracking was also excellent, and he doesnâ€t end up on the wrong side of wraparounds.

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In the first frame, he stopped nine of the 10 shots he faced, and the one that went in came from yet another defensive breakdown. Mark Scheifele walked right into the slot with nobody even attempting to cover him. He had all the time in the world to pick his spot to beat the Czech goalie.

Throughout the game, he made multiple saves, including some key ones late in the third and in overtime, before not allowing a single goal in the shootout. He did everything he could tonight, and heâ€s a massive part of the reason why the Canadiens skated away with the two points. It’s also worth mentioning that he communicates with his player very well, whenever a defenseman was pinching and no one was going back to cover for him, you could hear Dobes smacking the ice with his stick until the situation was corrected.

For the first time in what felt like forever, the Canadiens actually finished the second frame with a positive differential, scoring two goals and only allowing one. Thatâ€s not to say it was a perfect frame, though. The young Habs are still prone to panic when things go awry, for instance, when they had to defend with one less stick, the Jets knew precisely how to take advantage, passing the puck around until they were dizzy to take a temporary 2-1 lead.

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But, still, there were more good than bad plays in the middle frame; the power play only needed less than 30 seconds to score the Habs†first goal of the game, thanks to a perfect tic-tac-toe passing play completed by Slafkovsky.

As for the second goal, it was achieved thanks to Demidovâ€s combativeness. He chased the puck that was sent in deep by his linemate, battled hard with Josh Morrissey, outmuscled him and sent a perfect pass to Kapanen, who sent in a one-timer. It wasnâ€t the first fantastic set-up done by Demidov, but he finally converted on that one. With his eighth goal of the season, the Finnish forward rejoins Matthew Schaefer as the joint leader in goals scored amongst rookies. Meanwhile, the pass allows Demidov to join Beckett Senecke in the rookie scoring race and to reclaim sole lead in assists.

That build-up didnâ€t go unnoticed by the coach, who said:

When heâ€s involved physically, winning a battle, thatâ€s a situation where you need to use your body, and heâ€s good at using his edges when thereâ€s not a lot of space and to use a bit of physicality. If you want to produce in this league, youâ€ve got to be involved physically; you canâ€t be afraid of robust play.

– St-Louis on Demidov

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Tonight, the young Russian spent 19:29 on the ice, by far the most ice time he has ever had, and he thrived with the added time. You canâ€t rush a young playerâ€s development, but at the same time, itâ€s apparent that heâ€s so much further along than Slafkovsky was in his first season; itâ€s impressive to see.

After being criticized by some outlets for not fighting Kurtis MacDermid in Tuesdayâ€s game against the Ottawa Senators, Arber Xhekaj dropped the gloves on Wednesday and took on Jets†captain Adam Lowry. If the gritty defenseman has had trouble with winning his fights lately, it wasnâ€t the case tonight as he easily won the decision and skated away while pumping up the crowd.

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He was still the blueliner St-Louis used the least, playing 13:41, but he had a solid game:

He played a good game, just like he did in the last game. Thatâ€s what we want, for him to give us quality minutes. When he does that, it forces us to give him more minutes. Iâ€m happy with his game, and the fights and that, thatâ€s his job, and itâ€s not an easy one, but he did it very well.

– St-Louis on Arber Xhekaj

This 3-2 shootout win will be great for the Canadiens†collective confidence, but also for Dobes, who really stood out. With another back-to-back on the horizon this weekend, it will be interesting to see which goaltender gets to play the Maple Leafs in Toronto and who will take on the St. Louis Blues at the Bell Centre on Sunday.

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MONTREAL — We donâ€t think Martin St. Louis was being coy when he said prior to Wednesdayâ€s game that the only changes heâ€d be making from the lineup that lost Tuesdayâ€s game in embarrassing fashion to the Ottawa Senators would be Jakub Dobes for Samuel Montembeault and Jared Davidson for Florian Xhekaj.

Itâ€s just that he ended up changing everything — and to great effect, even if the Canadiens only squeaked away with a 3-2 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets.

What they gained from those changes might serve them particularly well at a critical juncture of their season.

Itâ€s been grim for the Canadiens since the start of November, following a 9-3-0 sprint out of the gate in October. The additions of Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle to the long-term injury list created holes to patch up and down their lineup and made the balance they tend to thrive on far too elusive — and it showed in their 4-6-3 record. And the need to restore that balance immediately, as the schedule tightens and the intensity of each game mounts, has become more urgent.

If some of it returned to the Canadiens on Wednesday, following arguably their worst outing of the season a night prior, it had everything to do with how St. Louis assembled his lines and deployed them.

He said he wanted to reunite Juraj Slafkovsky with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield to match them against Winnipegâ€s top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi because theyâ€ve historically done well in best-on-best matchups. He said Brendan Gallagher moved to a line with Jake Evans and Josh Anderson because their best chance to make up for a bad night against Ottawa would be to address it together against the Jets. He said Joe Veleno, Zach Bolduc and Davidson would fill out the depth portion of the lineup, while Alex Texier would complement the skill of Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen without slowing either player down.

But St. Louis made all of them feel important in ways they werenâ€t accustomed to and, in the process, gave himself the type of flexibility that can help him get the best out of the Canadiens far more frequently.

For example, trusting Demidov, Kapanen and Texier to make seven of their static starts in the defensive zone and seeing them do the job as effectively as they did was illuminating.

“As we go through this month, we have a lot of games. You have to be able to spread the ice a little bit, so you have to be able to trust people,†said St. Louis. “Youâ€ll never be able to trust people if you donâ€t give them the chance.â€

Giving Kapanenâ€s line some of that responsibility gave Evans the type of opportunity he hasnâ€t had all season.

Coming into the game, he had been given just 12 static starts in the offensive zone, but he got three against Winnipeg.

It doesnâ€t seem like much, but itâ€s as many as Evans got in the defensive zone, which was a big departure from his regular deployment.

Evans had started a team-leading 56 shifts in his own zone this season, leaving him almost no chance of generating some of the offence that would balance his sagging plus-minus rating. And as St. Louis said before Tuesdayâ€s game, in which Evans got benched, a defensive playerâ€s main source of confidence would only naturally be derived from their plus-minus rating.

He played 16:22, finished even, and had four shot attempts and two great scoring chances against the Jets, leaving him saying he felt “pretty good†about how he was used.

Demidov had to have been feeling the best he has since debuting in the league last April.

The 19-year-old played a career-high 19:29, saw ice-time in the final minutes of each period and was a force with and without the puck. He was dynamic, especially against elite defenceman Josh Morrissey, whom he twisted into a pretzel — and not just to set up Kapanenâ€s goal that made it 2-2.

The shot attempts were 12-3 Montreal in the 7:07 Demidov spent against the Jets†No. 1 defenceman at five-on-five, and that had as much to do with what he did offensively as what he did defensively.

The 19-year-old gained points with his coach in this game as a result, and it should pay immediate dividends for the Canadiens if heâ€s able to reinforce the impression he made over his next ones.

“I feel like, game to game, itâ€s coming,†said Demidov.

Itâ€s been there for Slafkovsky game after game.

His goal to tie the game 1-1 was his fifth point in his last four games, bringing his total to 15 over 26 games this season.

“I just keep telling myself that I want to dominate with and without the puck, be good on both sides,†he said after the Ottawa game, and his performance in that one stood out as one of the only good ones from anyone wearing a Canadiens jersey that night.

The point totals donâ€t reflect the end to which Slafkovsky is emerging as the player he wants to be. Heâ€s becoming the player the Canadiens hoped heâ€d be when they drafted him first overall in 2022, and his recent stint away from Suzuki and Caufield helped him get there.

Putting Slafkovsky back with them opened other possibilities and gave other players wings in one of the most complete efforts of the season for the Canadiens.

It was a great response to one of their worst ones. Especially on the second half of a back-to-back against a rested team. And it came from everyone — from Arber Xhekaj, who won a fight against Adam Lowry and played strongly at both ends, to Veleno, who made the most of his ice-time by winning eight of his 10 draws.

Dobes also did his part, making 29 saves and stopping two of three shots in the shootout (Vilardiâ€s shot hit the post).

Putting him in was a no-brainer.

As for the changes that required some thought, St. Louis pushed all the right buttons, and that could offer more to the Canadiens than just the two points they took in the standings.

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MONTREAL — There were 14 different defencemen who dressed for at least one game of arguably the most forgettable season in Montreal Canadiens history, and none of them were named Andrei Markov.

It didnâ€t make sense then, and it still doesnâ€t make sense now.

And not just because Markov was wronged, with then-general manager Marc Bergevin leaving him out in the cold as he was 10 games from hitting a 1,000 with the only franchise heâ€d ever played for, but also because the soon-to-be 39-year-old wouldâ€ve, at worst, been Montrealâ€s third-best defenceman that season.

Markov had six goals, 36 points and a plus-18 while averaging 21:50 per game to help the Canadiens earn 103 points and an Atlantic Division title in 2016-17, and he felt that armed him to command a two-year deal at the same salary heâ€d earned for 10 straight seasons.

But after Markov failed to gain any traction on those negotiation terms, he finally bent, telling Bergevin heâ€d take a one-year deal.

It was never offered, so Markov opted for a two-year deal with the KHLâ€s AK Bars Kazan to play the remainder of a career that started roughly 900 kilometres away, in Voskresensk, just outside Moscow.Â

If Canadiens owner Geoff Molson didnâ€t feel good about it then, he had to have felt horrible months later — after 39-year-old Mark Streit was signed for pennies on the dollar to end up dressing for only two games before having his contract torn up.Â

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The rest of Bergevinâ€s decisions that off-season led the Canadiens off a cliff and down to the ravine of the Atlantic Division, with an embarrassing 71 points to show for their efforts.

Woe, Joe Morrow! And David Schlemko, Brandon Davidson, Rinat Valiev, Brent Lernout, Jakub Jerabek …

Maybe “forgettable†was too kind an adjective for this group.

Anyway, that’s all in the past now, and a wrong is being righted Wednesday night with Molson inviting Markov to be honoured by the Canadiens ahead of their game against the Winnipeg Jets.

Consider whatâ€s being celebrated: 119 goals, 572 points and 16 seasons of serving as the Canadiens†steadiest defenceman and, arguably, their most reliable player outside of the crease.

Brendan Gallagher played with many great ones starting in 2013, but he puts Markov in a class of his own.

“Carey Price and Shea Weber are both Hall of Famers” — the former is all but guaranteed to one day become one while the latter was inducted in 2024 — “and Markyâ€s probably the next guy on my list, to be honest,†Gallagher said Tuesday. “He was extremely smart. I mean this in a complimentary way: he wasnâ€t the fastest player, but he rarely got beat because his reads were just so ahead of everyone else on the ice. He knew exactly where the puck was going to be and where he needed to be. You never felt like his skating was an issue, even with the game getting faster and faster. His brain was just working at a different level than any other player on the ice, and he was able to be effective right up until the last game he played.â€

For a spell, smack in the middle of Markovâ€s prime, his career was jeopardized by a rash of terrible injuries. He suffered them in succession, appearing in only 66 of the 246 games he was eligible to play in from the beginning of the 2009-10 season through the end of the 2011-12 campaign.

Ankle surgery followed by back-to-back knee surgeries made it improbable Markov would return to any type of prominence, let alone be the player who proved capable of authoring seasons of 46, 49, 58 and 64 points, like he did over the four seasons that immediately preceded his first major injury.

Those were dark days, as Lars Eller remembers.

“For the first two-and-a-half years, I donâ€t think I played a game with him,†the former Canadien and current Ottawa Senator said, half-jokingly, Tuesday. Â

Eller was dead serious, though, when he said, “Itâ€s hard because every day there is a ton of hours and work in the shadows that people donâ€t see, especially when youâ€re injured with three surgeries.Â

“What players love the most is they want to be on the ice and they want to play games,†Eller continued. “Thatâ€s the joy, thatâ€s what you work towards, and so you sacrifice all this time to get to there and, all of a sudden, the fun part is taken away from you, and maybe even at some point heâ€s thinking, ‘I donâ€t know, can I come back or not?â€

“I donâ€t know what he was thinking. He was certainly determined to make it back, but I donâ€t know if it was a sure thing at the time that he was going to.â€

It could be considered the greatest accomplishment of Markovâ€s career that he missed just two games total over the next four seasons.Â

Markov roared back triumphantly, posting 10 goals and 30 points in the lockout-abridged, 48-game 2013 season. He followed that up 43 points in 81 games the following year, 50 points in 81 games of 2014-15 and another 44 points in 82 games in 2015-16.

And the six goals and 36 points Markov registered in his final season with the Canadiens came over just 61 games, with a mid-season 19-game absence to heal a lower-body injury barely slowing him down.

The elements of play that made Markov special — the ones that had the Canadiens take a flyer on him with their sixth-round pick of the 1998 draft — were still shining through.

“For me, it was his ability to create openings for other players without even moving,†said Gallagher. “It was limited movement, but he was just able to use his eyes and his stick angle to move defenders and create the openings to move the puck. That poise, and the level that his brain worked at, it was just something else.â€

It was a money maker for all of Markovâ€s partners through the years — from Mike Komisarek to a younger Streit, to Sheldon Souray and P.K. Subban, who banked many goals and millions of dollars thanks to Markovâ€s brilliant plays and perfect passes on the power play.

He was a maven in that department, a wizard at extending play with almost unparalleled hand-eye coordination enabling him to swat down clearing attempt after clearing attempt.

That was just one thing that made Markov so good defensively, too.

“He was a step ahead of reading the play as a defenceman, so he would break up a lot of plays by seeing what pass was going to come and he would step into that lane,†said Eller. “It could be very annoying as a forward going against him in practice.â€

It was a gift to play with Markov in games.

“As a teammate, you really wanted to be out there when he was on the ice because he would find the lanes,†Eller said. “He could speed up the game but slow down the game as well and wait for passing lanes to open. Heâ€d make a great first pass. It was a joy to play with him as a forward and have him on the back end.â€

The Canadiens sure couldâ€ve used Markov over 12 other players they dressed back there in 2017-18.

It was a shame he didnâ€t hit 1,000 games in a Canadiens jersey, but itâ€ll be special to see him wear it one more time on Wednesday.

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MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens deserved what they got on Tuesday night — a humiliating loss punctuated by Brady Tkachuk, who scored the final goal for the Ottawa Senators before laughing his way back to the visiting bench.

Maybe the Senators†captain couldnâ€t believe how easily he evaded coverage to make it 5-2 with under seven minutes remaining in regulation. Or maybe he just found it hilarious that the Canadiens repeatedly cleared the lanes for him and his teammates and gave them anything but the fight they were expecting before he added insult to injury.

This game was supposed to stoke a rivalry that had already burned white-hot from the pre-season punch-up in Quebec City through the first regular-season bout at the beginning of November. Every Canadiens player we spoke with in the morning seemed prepared to add another log to the fire.

But the home team ended up dropping a big one in the toilet.

“We just didnâ€t defend hard enough,†said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis.

It really is as simple as that.

Whatâ€s complicated to understand is why?

Why did Jake Evans and Josh Anderson, who are typically the Canadiens†most reliable defensive forwards, get so crossed up on Ottawaâ€s opening goal, which came just 24 seconds after Juraj Slafkovsky gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead?

Why did Zachary Bolduc get so far away from Artem Zub that he couldnâ€t even identify that he had lost him before Zub was left all alone to make not one but two moves on Samuel Montembeault for a goal that made it 2-1 near the end of the first period?

Why was Jake Sanderson given a free pass to Montembeaultâ€s net on the goal that made it 3-1 Ottawa in the sixth minute of the second period?

Why did Lane Hutson lose Drake Batherson on Ottawaâ€s fourth goal before losing Tkachuk on their fifth?

Donâ€t say itâ€s the system.

“You can have all the structure you want, but attitude is what comes first,†said St. Louis. “The structure, if I show clips, they can all see, they can teach it themselves. They know the rules, they know everything, so itâ€s an attitude.â€

The Canadiens had the wrong one in this game, and they paid for it.

Theyâ€ve been paying dearly for not quite having the exact right attitude since the start of November.

Since the Canadiens beat the Senators 4-3 in overtime on the first of that month, theyâ€ve lost nine of 13 games.

Towards the start of that run, they mismanaged the puck too often and got disconnected on the forecheck. In the middle of it, after fixing some of those issues, they fumbled in the neutral zone. And after addressing the problems with their back pressure to collect three consecutive wins, the Canadiens lost 7-2 in Colorado with a game plan St. Louis said was too passive.

He took the blame for it and urged the Canadiens to be more aggressive on the puck against the Senators, to get back to the identity he felt they had lost over their last three or four games.

They adjusted up the ice, but at a cost down near their own goaltender, who was once again far more fallible than he shouldâ€ve been.

And so, they got embarrassed by their most bitter rival, whose captain rightfully rubbed it in.

It wouldnâ€t be the worst idea for the Canadiens to watch Tkachuk celebrating that backbreaking goal on repeat before taking on the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. If thatâ€s what itâ€ll take for them to play with the level of effort and concentration required to string together play in all three zones, they should consider it.

Because itâ€s got to be exhausting fixing one problem while creating another.

“Itâ€s just unacceptable,†said Cole Caufield. “Our whole D-zone today was lack of maybe effort or being ready to go, but tired of losing due to one-on-one battles. Youâ€ve got to find your guy and youâ€ve got to win your battle and keep him on the outside and do your job.â€

The Canadiens might be the youngest team in the league, but as St. Louis said, “it shouldnâ€t be an excuse.â€

They have enough experience to know they wonâ€t win games by cheating the details. And if they didnâ€t know what cheating them in the defensive zone would lead to, they found out on Tuesday.

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For the second time this season, the Montreal Canadiens will host the Ottawa Senators tonight at the Bell Centre. The first duel between the two sides was a highly entertaining affair with the Habs taking a 2-0 lead before letting the Sens claw their way back in the game, to not only tie it, but take a 3-2 lead which held until Ivan Demidov tied it up with less than three minutes to go in regulation. Alex Newhook then scored the game-winning goal to allow Montreal to take the two points.

Many believed the Senators would struggle after losing their captain, Brady Tkachuk, to a broken thumb on October 13. Still, Ottawa stayed afloat until his return on November 28 against the St. Louis Blues. Right now, the visitors are trailing the Canadiens by a single point in the extra-tight Eastern Conference. They havenâ€t won since his return, though, dropping the game to the Blues 4-3 and suffering a 6-1 defeat against the Dallas Stars. In their last 10 games, the Sens are 5-4-1 while the Habs are 4-5-1.

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Martin St-Louis has already announced that Samuel Montembeault would be in the net, just like in the first duel this season, where he had made 14 saves on just 17 shots. The Becancour native has a 4-4-0 record against Ottawa with a 3.15 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage. Jakub Dobes, who should therefore be in the net on Wednesday night against the Winnipeg Jets, has never taken on the Sens.

While Travis Green has yet to confirm who will be manning Ottawaâ€s net, it would be surprising if it wasnâ€t Linus Ullmark. The organizationâ€s top goaltender has a 4-4-1 record against the host with a 3.40 GAA and a .871 SV. As for backup Leevi Merilainen, he has never taken on the Habs.

Up front, the Canadiens will want to keep a close eye on Claude Giroux, the veteran has 39 points in 52 games against Montreal. He has, however, slowed down, and Drake Batherson is the man to watch. In 29 duels, the right winger has 28 points, including two this season. Of course, Tkachuk is also a constant threat with 27 points in 30 games. Tim Stutzle also has a lot of success against the Canadiens with 21 points in 24 games.

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For the Habs, Cole Caufield has a seven-game point streak, with two goals and six assists in that span, and is a regular contributor against Ottawa, with 14 points in 15 games. Heâ€s also just two goals away from joining Martin Rucinsky as the 43rd best goal scorer with the Habs, with 134. As for captain Nick Suzuki, heâ€s on a five-game point streak (three goals and four assists) and has 22 points in 30 duels. Brendan Gallagher is, however, the Habs†most productive forward against the visitors with 29 points, but he will be playing his 50th game against them on Tuesday night.

The Canadiens have only won four of the last 10 duels between the two sides, but that includes four of the last five tilts. Ottawaâ€s last win in Montreal goes back to January 2024, a 4-1 win. This game will be the second of four meetings between the two sides this season, the other two being scheduled for January and March in Ottawa.

Montreal will want to play a disciplined game, since the Sens rank 11th in the league with a 21.8% success rate on the man advantage, but they struggle on the penalty kill at 69.9%, which ranks 31st. Meanwhile, the Habs rank ninth on the power play with 23.5% and are 26th when it comes to the penalty kill with a 76.5% success rate. In the November tilt, each team received 16 penalty minutes, but that included the “payback†fight between Jayden Struble and Nick Cousins for his slash on Demidov in the preseason.

Judging by what we saw at practice yesterday, the lineup should be similar to the one used against the Colorado Avalanche since Jayden Struble is still day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

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Tonight is the Lane Hutson bobblehead night at the Bell Centre, so make sure you arrive early since only the first 8,000 fans will receive the free collectible. The game is set for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on RDS, TSN2 and TSN 5.

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