Is this the year the Habs bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada?

Ed. here. We welcome the return of our National Sports (As Long As It's Hockey) Editor, Poor Len Canayen.

Tank youse, Hed. The last Canadian (or Canada-based) team to win the Stanley Cup, emblematic of the championship of the National Hockey League, was the Montréal Canadiens, who brought Lord Stanley's silverware home in 1993. They defeated the Los Angeles Kings in that year's final series. 

Since then, no Canadian team has won the Cup. And no Canadian team has played in the finals since 2021, when the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Habs (for it was them, again) 4 games to 1.

In about 200 minutes, the same two teams will do battle again. in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They finished the 2025-26 season 2nd (Lightning) and 3rd in the Atlantic Division, behind the surprising Buffalo Sabres by a mere 2 points. Whichever team wins this round will likely meet the Sabres next. 

Who will win tonight? As I point my TV antenna towards Florida, I think of the last match between the Habs and the Bolts in the regular season. It was like the old Henny Youngman joke: I went to the fights the other night and a hockey game broke out! 

Les Glorieux gave as good as they got, and I don't think they're going to be bested in the rough stuff department tonight. I also think the Habs can compete in goal. They have the luxury of two goalies -- the two Jakes -- with save percentages of over.900. TB has only the one. 

As for scoring, Habs are better per the stats after an amazing season. How can anyone stop a power play unit consisting of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson?! The question is defence. 

The loss of Noah Dobson hurts. Alexandre Carrier may be able to play, maybe not. So that puts a lot of pressure on Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj. They've improved greatly in the second half of the season, but can they handle 20 minutes per game? It may come to that because coach will be reluctant to give much ice time to David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom who, IMHO, aren't yet ready for prime time yet. 

I hear you asking for a prediction. My heart tells me Habs in 7, but I wouldn't bet on it! Ed. says some blog posts end suddenly and inconclusively. This is one of them.

Poor Len analyzes Canadiens' first 6 games

Ed. here. Walt is still in Canada. I suspect he is indulging in Boneshaker IPA with our National Sports Editor, Poor Len Canayen, who has send these comments on the Montréal Canadiens season, thus far. 

Tank youse, Hed. Let's start with stats. Following last night's loss to the New York Rangers -- which the Habs deserved, by the way -- they have registered 4 wins and 2 losses, for 8 points and a .667 average.

That's good for second place in the Atlantic Division, behind the much improved Detroit Red Wings, who also have 8 points but have a game in hand. 

If la Sainte Flannelle can maintain the .667 average through the season, they should wind up with 109 point and a berth in the playoffs. 

But I did say "if".

The 2025-26 Canadiens are fast and super-exciting to watch, especially when Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov. Yet, of the four games they won, they had to come from behind to win two in overtime. And the power play still hasn't hit top gear. Last night, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki extended their point streaks to five games. Caufield sniped five goals in the first five games.

Noah Dobson scored his first goal in a Habs sweater and has fitted in nicely. After scoring three goals in each of the first three games, Zach Bolduc has gone a bit quiet but looks like a good acquisition. Kirby Dach appeared to have shaken off the rust, but is still injury-prone, missing last night's game with a lower-bodyinjury, as did Kaiden Guhle, who's going to be out for a month.

If the Habs are to sustain their early momentum, some tweaks must be made, not to the strategy of coach Martin St-Louis, but to the lineup. The power play has struggled. Too much passing and not enough presence4 in front of the enemy's net. How about putting Demidov on the right and dropping Juray Slavkovsky down to second, with Dach at centre and, say, Bolduc at left. 

Notice I didn't mention Patrik Laine? Apart from some time on the power play, he's been relegated to the fourth line, where, if he doesn't do much good, at least does little harm. Did anyone else note that while he sat out of last night's game (lower body injury, they said), Jonathan Marchessault was absent from the Nashville Predators lineup vs Winnipeg. Marchessault was showcased in Thursday night's game vs Montréal and I wonder if a trade for Laine is in the works. Marchessault would love to be at home in Québec and It would be a great deal for the Habs.

Then there's the goaltending conundrum. Les Glorieux have scored 21 goals in their first six games, but have allowed 18, a differential of +3. Problem: it wasn't backup goalie Jakub Dobes who allowed most of those. It was the supposed starter Samuel Montembeault. His GAA is 3.26 (sv% .857), compared with Dobes' 1.46 (.940), although the latter played in just two games. Monty's record is 2-2, while Dobes' is 2-0. Do I need to say more? [Please do. Ed.]

Hokay den, here's what dey shoujld do. Send Montembeault down to Laval for some reconditioning, and bring up hot prospect Jacob Fowler to play backup to Dobes for the next few games. See what happens.

[You seem to have a liking for goalies named "Jacob". Ed.] Yeah, well, remember Jake Allen? At the ripe old age of 35, he's still playing for the New Jersey Devils, and putting up respectable numbers. I rest my case. [I think there's still one in there that hasn't been opened. Ed.] Tank youse, Hed.

VIDEO: Poor Len reviews last night's Canadiens vs Senators game (?)

You know the old Henny Youngman joke: "I went to the fights the other night and a hockey game broke out!" Here's our National Sports (as long as it's hockey) Editor, Poor Len Canayen, with his take on last night's tilt in North America's most beautiful second-tier (state/provincial) capital.

Tank youse, Hed! Hockey fans in Québec (the city) are still pissed at Gary Bitchmann, the non-skating Jew who is czar of the so-called National Hockey League. It is he, and he alone, who stands in the way of the return of NHL hockey to Québec City, former home of the much-missed Québec Nordiques, who fell victims of wee Gary's drive to make "National" mean "American", and American only. Perhaps he's one of those behind President Trump's constant allusions to making Canada "the 51st state"?

But I digest. NHL hockey was played last night in the fine Centre Vidéotron, where the Ottawa Senators, the home team for the night, received the Montréal Canadiens in a thrilling match which delighted the multitude of Habs fans in attendance... Sens fans not so much.

       

Interviewed after the game, Habs D-man Alexandre Carrier said, "Rendu en troisième, on ne jouait plus vraiment au hockey." True enough. Between them, the teams racked up 152 penalty minutes in a fight-filled 5-0 victory for les Glorieux.

At the centre of the mêlée were the Xhekaj brothers, Arber and Florian, with two fights each. Florian fought Jan Jenik in the first period, and Arber and Jenik traded blows in the second. Then, in the third, both brothers fought on the same shift when Arber took on Zack MacEwen and Florian battled with Carter Yakemchuk near the Habs' bench. The brothers combined for 31 penalty minutes and were both ejected from the game, along with MacEwen, after those third-period fights. 

Also in the third period, Senators forward Nick Cousins was penalized for an egregious slash on tiny but terrible Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov, who, along with Lane Hutson, put on a skating and stick-handling clinic that deserved a standing O.

For the record, the Canadiens' goals were scored by Oliver Kapanen, Patrik Laine, Alexandre Carrier, Lane Hutson and Kirby Dach, three of the goals coming on the power play. Assist went to Dach, Demidov, Hutson and Laine, as well as Alex Newhook, Mike Matheson, and Brendan Gallagher.

The victory was largely due to the fine work of the young players, but the contribution of the old pros should be noted. It was good to see Dach figure in the scoring. We hope doing so will help him regain his self-confidence. And Brendan Gallagher... what can we say except "We love ya!"

Last night was perhaps the last opportunity for players who are "on the bubble" to show that they deserve to stay with the Big Team when final cuts are made after Saturday's last pre-season game at Ottawa. Owen Beck, Joe Veleno, Samuel Blais and Zach Bolduc were present last night but did nothing in particular to help or hurt themselves.   

The best of the prospects, IMHO, was Kapanen, whose goal last night was the icing on the cake of a strong performance. My money's on him to be in the starting line-up for the first regular season game, along with maybe Beck. The season opener is October 8th, at Toronto.

We leave you with a pic from last night's game: Jayden Struble on top of Jan Jenik.

If you like your hockey like a good steak... bloody... this was your kind of game!

Footnote added at 1235 FMT: The blatant attempts of certain Ottawa players to inflict serious physical damage on the smaller and better Canadiens did not go unnoced by the NHL Department of Player Safety. Nick Cousins has been fined $2148.44 -- the maximum permitted under the agreement with the players -- for his vicious slash on the arm of Ivan Demidov. Hayden Hodgson was fined $2148.44 for boarding Alex Newhook. The money goes to the NHL Players Emergency Fund.

Poor Len's second look at the Montréal Canadiens,

Poor Len Canayan reports from the National Sports Desk.

Isn't it the truth I told yez, yesterday. A first-rate first line. Tic-tac-toe. Two goals in the Habs' 4-2 victory over the Phlyers of Philthydelphia. [Don't make me use Spellcheck! Ed.] After that, a brother act to watch, and not much else. 

For those who missed it, here are Canada's team's scoring plays: 

1) Less than a minute into the first period, Cole Caufield from Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki. Tic-tac-toe. Beautiful.

2) Florian Xhekaj, his first NHL goal, causing his mom, watching from the stands, to cry tears of joy for Arber's little brother. 

Ty Thorpe and Luke Tuch assisted. Both were engaged throughout and deserve a serious look to remain with the big club.

3) Nick Suzuki from Juraj Slafkovský and Cole Caufield. Good on Slafkovský for coming back from a nasty slap to the yap, and showing signs of being ready to start playing seriously before mid-season.

4) Arber Xhekaj, into an empty net in the last minute of play... on the second try!

That's just about all ye need to know, except that Arber Xhekaj is going to wind up as the seventh defenceman unless he can learn to keep his temper under control and pick his spots more carefully. In the third period, with the score 3-1 Habs, he was tripped in the Flyers corner, drawing a penalty. But then, right under the eys of the refugee, he skated up behind the penalized player and gave him a shot in the back, hoping to start a fight. The Phlyer didn't bite.  Result: 2 minutes for the Flyer and 4 minutes for roughint to Xhekaj, and a power play goal for Philly.

Jakub Dobes played goal for les Glorieux for the first half of the game and looked solid. His replacement for the second 30 minutes was the much-travelled Kaapo Kähkönen, a UFA who signed with the Habs from one year in July. About ten seconds after he took his position between the pipes, he got scored on. He looked even worse, on the Flyers' second goal, just a few minutes later. 

He redeemed himself (partially) with a good sprawling stop on a breakaway later, but let's just say that he's in no danger of being called on during the regular season unless Sam Montembault, Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler all get sick or hurt on the same day Sorry, Kaapo.

Afterthought: Who told Lane Hutson that he's a defenceman? With his speed, skating, stick-handling and playmaking skills, plus a decent shot, and considering his diminutive size, shouldn't he be playing on a forward line? Mind you, he effectively plays a forward's role when he quarterbacks the power play, but still... 

Further reading (great minds think alike dept.): "Observations et impressions après deux matchs préparatoires", par Richard Labbé, La Presse, 24/9/25.

Poor Len's first look at the 2025-2026 Montréal Canadiens

Our National Sports (as long as it's hockey) Editor, Poor Len Canayen, was thrilled yesterday to find that RDS is carrying all the Montréal Canadiens pre-season games. Here's how he saw last night's match with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Thank youse, Hed. For an exhibition game, last  night's contest was good, entertaining hockey, and le bleu, blanc et rouge won 2-1 in a 5-round shootout. That said, one would have thought that the supposedly improved Habs could do better against a Pittsburgh team that rested Crosby, Malkin, Letang and its other top players. The narrow victory doesn't inspire confidence.

Preliminary indications are that the Habs, in spite of strengthening their defensive corps over the summer, remain a team with just one good line. They rested Cole Caufield, Jury Slavkovsky, and captain Nick Suzuki, as well as ace-to-be defenceman Lane Hutson, leaving fans wondering who could be counted on to score. 

Answer: no-one. The Habs' goals came Owen Beck and, in the shoot-out, Oliver Kapanen, both of whom played a couple of games with the team last season and failed to impress. Give Beck his due, though. He was 70% at the faceoff dot, had 4 shots, and deserved the first star. He played the kind of game he needed to have a shot at filling the only available (on paper) vacancy on the forward lines.

Another forward with a shot, albeit a long one, is Filip Mesar, who played on Beck's right last night. With Laval last year, he had a disappointing 18 points in 42 games. But he made his presence felt yesterday, showing good puck control and patience, as well as willingness to get into the dirty areas, à la Brendan Gallagher. It was he who began the sequence that led to Beck's third-period goal. 

It was nice to see Mesar trying to show some finesse, for he had declared at the rookie training camp that he wanted to show more meanness, and was willing to drop the gloves, although at 5'10" and 184 lbs he's far from the heavyweight class. "We're not looking for a new Chris Nilan," said Coach Martin St-Louis. "You can see he's got good hands and good intelligence. His game has matured, and that's good to see."

And then there was the guy the fans came to see, Ivan Demidov. The problem with him, it says here, is that he needs someone to play with. Last night he was on the right of Jake Evans, not a top centre, with Patrik Laine on the left. I won't riff on Laine for being lazy because in the pre-season one doesn't expect the established players to give their all. Still, he could have done more than take one shot and then go into flotation mode.

It was Demidov who brought the Habs to life in the third period. Tired of waiting for someone to pass the puck to him, he showed that he can keep the puck out of reach of any defender, making moves which decades ago would have been described as "Savardian". He did have a couple of shots but was a bit off-target on one and foiled by the Penguins goalie on the other. No worries about his future with the "A" team. Just please, please put him on a line with a good centre and a mates who like to be part of tic-tac-toe  plays.

And that's it except to say that Jacob Fowler, making his debut between the pipes, looked calm and collected, and pulled off one spectacular save to preserve the tie and force overtime. I could see the coach going with a three-goalie rotation (with Samuel Montembault and Jacub Dobes) for the first 10 or15 games, before deciding which two will be the regular goaltenders. Is it possible to have a Jake as a starter and another Jake as the backup?

VIDEO: Congrats to Lane Hutson, winner of the 2024-5 Calder Trophy!

Ed. here. Instead of the usual drivel, we are pleased to turn this space over to our National Sports (As Long As It's Hockey) Editor, Poor Len Canayen, for a long-awaited announcement.

Tank youse, Hed. All of us at WWW, and Habs fans worldwide, are beyond please to congratulate Montréal Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson, on winning the 2024-25 Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. 

Yes! we have video to show why he easily topped the voting for the coveted award.

 

Hutson n'est pas un gars de chez nous. He actually comes from Holland*, but we already consider him a citizen of Québec, and of Canada too. After all, he was a major reason for the surprise appearance of la Sainte Flannelle in this spring's NHL playoffs.

Hutson, selected 62nd overall by Montréal at the 2022 NHL draft, is the Canadiens’ second Calder recipient in the expansion era, after goaltender Ken Dryden (1971-72). He led rookies in scoring, with six goals and 60 assists in his inaugural NHL season.His 60 assists matched Larry Murphy (1980-81) for the most by a rookie defenceman, while his 66 points trailed only Murphy, Brian Leetch (1988-89) and Gary Suter (1985-86) for the most ever by a rookie blueliner.

We predict a great future for the diminutive defenceman who, when he's on the ice, plays twice his size. Il a gagné ses épaulettes!

* Ed. asks: Should we call him Der fliegende Holländer? Errr, no. He's from Holland MI!

Yes! The Habs made the playoffs!

Earlier this month we asked "Are the Habs going to make the playoffs?" Instead of making a prediction, we reposted an article by Brian Wilde in which he said the Canadien rebuild was coming along just fine, but... didn't answer the question.

This morning we are pleased to report that the answer is a big, fat YES / OUI!  For the first time in four years, les Glorieux have earned that nickname, clinching an NHL playoff berth -- second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference -- with a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at Le Centre Bell last night.

The last time the Canadiens made the playoffs in 2021, they advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. But that was the COVID-19 shortened season when teams only played 56 regular-season games and the Canadiens had a 24-21-11 record, which ranked 18th in the overall NHL standings. 

The Habs' first home playoff game this year will be the first post-season game at a full Bell Centre since April 20, 2017, when they lost 3-2 in overtime to the New York Rangers in Game 5 of a first-round series. The Canadiens were eliminated in Game 6 two nights later at Madison Square Garden, losing 3-1 to the Rangers. The only member of the Canadiens who played in that series against the Rangers who is still with the team is Brendan Gallagher, the little warrior. 

Walt will be seeing Poor Len Canayen (our National Sport As Long As It's Hockey Editor) over the Easter weekend and will consult with him before opening a book. Odds of la Sainte Flanelle advancing past the first round are likely to be long. However, with another little warrior, Lane Hutson, continuing to amaze the opposition, and yet another, Ivan Demidov, joining the ranks just this week... 

But wait, there's more. Captain Nick Suzuki emerged this season as one of the top three centres in the entire league. And yet another little warrior, Cole Caufield, had a career-high 37 goals and 70 points, playing in all 82 games. With guys like that hitting peak performance this month, les Canadien seront là!

How are the Habs doing? Are they going to make the playoffs?

While we wait for the shoes -- the Trump tariffs -- to drop, let's talk hockey. 

Last night's game between the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and our beloved Montréal Canadiens was a real thriller. With 10 seconds left on the clock, Habs captain Nick Suzuki scored to lift les Glorieux into a 2-2 tie. Then he did it again at 30 second of the OT, et les boyz ont remporté la victoire, 3 à 2. Olé, olé, olé!

At this point we'd turn this space over to Poor Len Canayen, our National Sports (as long ss it's hockey) Editor, but Len is on sabbatical or something like that, so we're taking the liberty of posting a mash-up of Global TV's Brian Wilde's "Call of the Wilde", which says everything that Len would have said, only better. [And with no run-on sentences. Ed.] Thanks, Brian!

With nine games to play and six at home, the Montréal Canadiens have the advantage for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The opportunity is in front of them, but they have to keep executing. 

Every night is Lane Hutson Night. The assault on the record book continues. He's a point-per-game player since the Four Nations break. Hutson notched an assist on the first goal for the Canadiens on a deflection from Josh Anderson. That line was a handful and the best on the night for Montreal. 

Hutson now has 57 assists in his rookie season. He has moved ahead of Chris Chelios for second in assists all-time for a rookie defender. He trails only Larry Murphy for assists for a rearguard rookie in the history of the National Hockey League. Murphy had 60 assists. Three in eight games for the tie. 

Hutson's 62 points overall is also top-ten in the history of the game for rookie defenders. He could conceivably rise to third overall at his present pace. It must be stressed again that the entire top-15 list is from an era where the average goal total in a contest was 11 or 12; not six or seven goals.

The best this century before Hutson was Quinn Hughes with 53 points on 45 assists. Hutson has obliterated the best numbers in the last 25 years of rookies on the blue line. Hutson is remarkable. They might just scout differently. this kid is so special. 

Smaller players with world-class vision and creativity might not be treated like they will never make the major leagues. What doesn't get enough attention as he makes his meteoric rise to the upper echelon in the history of the game is he is improving tremendously in his own zone as well. 

The Canadiens are in the mix for a playoff spot, and Hutson is, without a doubt, the single biggest change to this roster from last season. Nick Suzuki is having his best campaign. Cole Caufield has had a strong season. Juraj Slafkovsky has had an excellent second half. The Dvorak line is giving the opposition fits these days. Brendan Gallagher is playing the best hockey he has played in years, and Christian Dvorak's best moments as a Canadiens player are right now.

The fourth line had their remarkable run when they were best in the league in goals at one point for a fourth line. On defence, Jayden Struble has improved. Kaiden Guhle is improving still. Alexandre Carrier was a great addition via trade. 

However, all of those reason pale in comparison to the difference Hutson has made to this team in five months. He is just getting started. There are times that it is apparent that he will be even better than this when he sees how much he can actually fool the opposition. They have seen what he can do. They have adapted to him as well as they can. He still is playing chess to their checkers.The rebuild is going just fine, Montréal!