It’s remarkable that the Montreal Canadiens are on pace for 104 points, yet they are in an absolute dogfight to make the playoffs this season. They made the post-season with only 91 points last year. This season, the east is dominating in games against the west, so it’s skewed like never before.

Montreal needs every win it can get and the Canadiens didn’t disappoint against the Washington Capitals with a 6-2 win on Saturday.

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All Cole Caufield has to do is stay healthy to have the greatest goal scoring season for the Canadiens since 1994. That was the last time a Montreal player hit the 40-goal milestone, with Vincent Damphousse delivering the result.

Since then, it’s been nothing but failure to eclipse what isn’t that stunning a mark in the NHL. The closest was Max Pacioretty who counted 39 goals in 2013-14. Caufield’s career high is 37 goals, which he achieved last season.

This year, Caufield has something special in his sights. Only 30 seconds in on Saturday night, Caufield blocked a shot at the Capitals blue line to skate in on a breakaway. He shot far side, easily beating Charlie Lindrgren. Caufield added a second tally in the first period, beating Alexander Ovechkin in a goal-mouth battle to tap in number 35 on the season.

The 40-goal mark is easily attainable for the second highest goal scorer in the league. Caufield is on pace for 49 goals this year. He shouldn’t just end that embarrassing Canadiens run of 32 years without a 40-goal scorer, Caufield could be the first 50-goal man since Stephane Richer in 1990.

It will be exciting to see what total Caufield can achieve in the final 23 games of the season.

Alex Newhook has been strong in his first two games back from a serious ankle injury and surgery. Newhook has two assists in two games since returning. Newhook and Nick Suzuki are the two forwards assigned to win the zone on the power play, carrying a back pass from their own blue line. Newhook is actually the better of the two at this endeavour using his huge speed.

Newhook won the zone with the power play time running out. He caved in the Capitals defence, then found Zachary Bolduc, who fed the trailer Mike Matheson. Matheson found the far side. It was a beautiful goal that doesn’t happen without the speed of Newhook.

The Canadiens went up 4-1 late in the second on a great play by the first line on a three-on-two rush. Suzuki carried the puck into the corner then fed Kirby Dach, who fired it upstairs with a slap shot. The first line was the only trio that had good Corsi on the night.

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Both Suzuki and Jake Evans added empty-netters as Montreal seemed to take advantage of every chance they had to create a score line that wasn’t exactly indicative of the five-on-five play.

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The Canadiens had a lot of difficulty in their own zone. They spent a considerable amount of time trying to clear out the bigger Capitals, but they didn’t suffer for it because of a strong game from Jakub Dobes. He made 27 saves on 29 shots to make sure the goats segment stayed empty.

Without Dobes, the night would have gone quite differently. The Canadiens won 6-2, but the Goals Expected was actually 2.78 to 2.25 for Washington before the empty netters skewed the final numbers. Dobes made it look like everything was relaxing and cozy for the Canadiens when it wasn’t.

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The trading deadline is Friday at 3 p.m. It’s becoming apparent that the Canadiens are missing assets if they want to make a major run this season. It’s a difficult moment for management. They don’t want to send a message to their players that this isn’t the year.

The players actually deserve more than General Manager Kent Hughes standing pat. The club needs an asset at every position if they are serious about this right now. If they are not serious about this season, they do have an asset coming at every hole that they have.

If the attempted Cup runs start in 2026-27, then they have Michael Hage and Alexander Zharovsky coming at forward; they have David Reinbacher at defence; they have Jacob Fowler in the net. If the run starts this year, then they need a first line winger, a third pair defender and a better goalie.

Dach hasn’t been the solution on the first line, though the Canadiens had a strong Saturday night. The club can’t seem to trust Arber Xhekaj as a third pair solution. Samuel Montembeault is well under league average in net and Jakub Dobes is somewhat under league average.

If Hughes and Jeff Gorton do decide to spend, then they have to unload Patrik Laine who they, apparently, do not have a spot for in their line-up. Laine has been wearing a contact jersey in practice for over a month. They refuse to play him. In fact, they refuse to let the media speak to him as well. It feels all but assured that his time is done in Montreal.

The future is extremely bright for the Canadiens, but how quickly do they want that future to arrive. If they acquired assets right now, the logjam of talent next season would be massive. They have no expiring contracts of unrestricted free agents next season. The following season the entire third line of Phillip Danault, Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson are free to move.

Don’t think that Hughes has boxed himself into a corner. He’s actually in the middle of an open field. There are no wrong choices; just interesting ones.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.

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MONTREAL – Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis admitted a 4-3 overtime loss to the visiting New York Islanders left a bitter taste with his players.

Montreal led Thursday’s game 3-2 late in the third, but the Islanders rallied with the game-tying goal in the final two minutes before scoring in the extra period.

The way that game ended was a point of emphasis on Saturday morning before the Canadiens hosted the visiting Washington Capitals.

“I think we learned from that,” said Canadiens forward Cole Caufield. “We weren’t too happy with ourselves and how we handled that third period (against the Islanders). Obviously, we knew we needed to have a good start and play a full 60 minutes (Saturday).”

The Canadiens entered the third period on Saturday with a 4-1 lead, thanks in large part to Caufield’s two first-period goals, the first of which came just 30 seconds into the game.

“When you get a goal the first shift of the game, it kind of sets the tone for the rest,” said Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, who finished the game with a goal and two assists.

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“It was a good start,” added Caufield. “We needed that tonight. It’s pretty cool to get those two early but, obviously, getting chances is the most important thing.”

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While the Capitals would trim the deficit to two, courtesy of captain Alex Ovechkin’s second goal of the night, Montreal was determined to not let the lead, or the game, slip away from them again.

“What I liked best about the game was how we managed the third period,” said St. Louis. “I know it’s different from the other night because we were leading by more, but they scored a goal to cut the deficit to two goals. We managed it better. We continued to play in the third.”

Suzuki was also proud of his team’s commitment to finishing the game properly.

“I think there’s some points in the game where we probably were sitting a little too far back,” said Suzuki. “Sometimes, you get uncomfortable when you keep losing the lead. I thought we did a better job of not trying to be too safe out there.”

The Canadiens have seen a third-period lead turn into a loss on eight occasions this season, including three in regulation time.

Montreal currently sits third in the Atlantic Division standings with 75 points, just one point back of the second-place Buffalo Sabres, who have played one more game than the Canadiens.

With the Detroit Red Wings just one point back of Montreal entering play Sunday, Caufield recognizes the importance of not letting teams back into games, especially as the team gets set to enter the final two months of the regular season.

“These are very important games,” said Caufield. “It’s a sprint to the finish line. Obviously, every team in our division has been pushing in the same direction. All these points matter. That’s what makes it fun.”

HONOURING THE OLYMPIANS

Before Saturday’s puck drop, the Montreal Canadiens recognized 11 athletes who competed at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. In addition to Suzuki, Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson of the men’s ice hockey team, short track speedskaters Danaé Blais, William Dandjinou, Félix Roussel, Florence Brunelle, Kim Boutin, Courtney Sarault and Steven Dubois were saluted at centre ice by the Montreal faithful.

A thunderous ovation was also given to freestyle skier Mikaël Kingsbury, who captured a gold and silver medal in moguls during the 33-year-old’s final Olympics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2026.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

The stretch run of 25 games to the end of the regular season began for the Montreal Canadiens at home on Thursday night. Montreal is on pace for 104 points which would get them into a playoff spot easily.

However, any letdown would also be costly as the standings are extremely tight this season.

The New York Islanders forced overtime with an extra attacker in the final two minutes, then won it in the extra session 4-3.

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Noah Dobson had extra motivation for the Islanders’ visit. It was the first time that he faced his former club since the summer trade. Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche didn’t feel that Dobson was worth the commitment as he approached his free agency.

They felt that he was asking for too much money, and they weren’t ready to commit long-term. Enter GM Kent Hughes who had no issue with an eight-year commitment to Dobson. It’s working out well for the Canadiens so far, as Dobson has been outstanding in his first season in Montreal.

Dobson opened the scoring by streaking down the left side and ripping a shot into the far corner. In the second period, he counted a second on a slap shot from the point on the power play. Dobson gets only a small amount of power play time on the second unit, yet he has 12 goals on the season.

Dobson already has surpassed his point total from last year. His career best is a remarkable 70 points. Dobson won’t hit that this year, but he is on pace for a strong 57 points. He’s not featured offensively in the lineup behind Lane Hutson, but he is contributing a strong season.

It was an untidy game that often looked disjointed. The smooth connections that the Canadiens showed entering the break weren’t there after the break. However, even when they are not at their best, they are staying in the games now. That’s what talent does.

Finally, that talent came through on the power play midway through the third period. It was the strangest of goals. Juraj Slafkovsky let a slap shot go that blew up his stick. While the stick was flying towards Ilya Sorokin, so was the puck moving at about 20 miles per hour.

It bounced off Ivan Demidov’s skate, then ricocheted across the net where Cole Caufield had an easy tap in from four inches. Sorokin was playing a game of Where’s Waldo. It was Caufield’s 33rd goal of the season. He’s third in the entire league.

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If it wasn’t clear to many Canadiens fans that the rookie of the year this season is Matthew Schaefer before the contest, it certainly is clear now. While Demidov had a difficult night, Schaefer was New York’s best player by far.

Schaefer counted twice to get the Islanders back into the contest. The game changed on a two-man advantage for the Islanders for 1:53. Samuel Montembeault was looking strong, and the Isles were frustrated, but it all changed on the power play.

Slafkovsky took a weak one with a slight slash on a stick called for interference, then Mike Matheson committed a high sticking foul. After that, Schaefer took over. The 18-year-old has 18 goals on the season. This is a remarkable rookie total for a forward.

The league record for goals for a rookie defender is held by Brian Leetch with 23 in 1989. That was a different era with almost two more goals scored per game than now, so when Schaefer beats that mark, it will truly be a special season in league history.

It would have been quite a bold call to choose Schaefer for the Olympics, but the best player on the ice is the best player on the ice regardless of his age. There can be no doubt that Schaefer will be on the 2030 team.

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The top end of the roster is still a bit thin with question marks at first line winger to play with Caufield and Suzuki, and at second line centre contemplating whether Oliver Kapanen is enough for that role. However, for overall depth, the roster is in magnificent shape.

When Zachary Bolduc is a healthy scratch, that’s an extremely deep set of 12 forwards. Bolduc did nothing wrong. He’s actually improving his game consistently this season under intelligent tutelage.

There are simply not enough spots for all the great players. Newhook’s return forced a difficult decision for the head coach, Martin St. Louis. He was forced to decide between Alexandre Texier and Bolduc. Texier played on the fourth line with Jake Evans and Newhook in the Islanders game.

The only pause for reflection on this decision is this: By keeping the Anderson, Gallagher, and Danault line intact, there’s an underlying message that veterans won’t be insulted. It also says that the head coach wants success right now. He’s not trying to build the game of Bolduc as much as he wants to manufacture wins right now.

It’s only one game at this point, though. It’s not a continuous choice to let Bolduc stagnate. It would be best if there were a rotation. One night Bolduc sits, then the next night Texier. Perhaps the coach can see clear to the concept that Gallagher can use a little rest himself at this late stage of his career.

All in all, it’s an extremely a nice problem to have the idea that there is too much talent on the squad.

Oh! Patrik Laine.

Quite a nice problem to have with the deep construction of this roster by General Manager Kent Hughes in four seasons. In 2022, Rafael Harvey-Pinard was on the first line with Jesse Ylonen. Remarkable.

It’s not the time to panic about who sits. It’s time to celebrate the depth of this rebuild.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.

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The final game before the Olympics break for the Montreal Canadiens was in Winnipeg, 21 days before the next contest, so the Canadiens wanted to finish on a high.

The Jets are at the bottom of the standings, but playing better recently. After a weak first 10 minutes, the Canadiens rolled to a 5-1 win.

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It’s truly hard to believe that Lane Hutson did not make the USA Olympic team. The statistics in his favour could not be more convincing. When Hutson took a pass from Josh Anderson, streaked toward the goal and roofed it from inside three feet, it was his 10th goal of the season.

Goals are far from his specialty, but he’s  top 15 in the league in that category. Assists are where he shines, and in that discipline, Hutson is second behind only Quinn Hughes with 48 on the season.

In points, Hutson is at a sparkling 58 points in 57 games. He’s blowing away his rookie season of 66 points. Hutson is third in the league among defenders in points.

The counterargument to his inclusion for the Olympics is that there are two sides to the ice, and it’s imperative that a defender can also take care around his own goalie.

Hutson is a plus-21 on the season. He is 12th in the entire league. It’s easy to doubt that the man who made the choices Bill Guerin is not an analytics lover, but if he were, Hutson is 19th in the NHL in Corsi. There simply is not a single metric where Hutson is not elite. That is, except his height where he is listed as five-feet-nine-inches tall.

If Hutson could practice being taller, he would be seven feet by the morning.

The Canadiens got off to a horrible start. They were dominated by the Jets, but Samuel Montembeault was strong in the first period. Impressive from Montembeault, considering he hadn’t played in 11 days.

If not for Montembeault being strong early, it could have been a vastly different night. Montembeault stopped 36 of 37 on the night.

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His excellence allowed the Canadiens to find their game eventually. Oliver Kapanen had a goal-scorer’s touch for his 18th of the year. If Kapanen would have panicked, he would have simply whacked it in the goalie’s pads. However, he calmly curled the puck away from Connor Hellebuyck, backed out of the melee, and then flipped it upstairs for what looked like an easy marker, but wasn’t.

The Phillip Danault, Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher line had a strong contest. Anderson set up Hutson, and he scored himself on a deflection for his 12th of the year.

Gallagher had two helpers early, and then he wrapped up the game midway through the third with a tap in tally on a gorgeous pass from Kirby Dach.

Dach certainly has his patterns. Every time it starts to feel like he is done, he rises up, and then when he looks like he could find stardom after all, he breaks something. There’s an outstanding player in there somewhere, if he could only stay healthy enough to keep his momentum going.

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For the first time this season, the Canadiens are 15 games over NHL .500. They have played 57 times and have lost in regulation only 17 games. That’s a lot of entertainment for the long-suffering best fans in hockey.

Before last season, oddsmakers in Las Vegas set the Canadiens over/under for 75 points. They finished with 91. This season, the oddsmakers set the line at 91 points. They are on pace for 104 points. Montreal is eighth in the entire league.

No goats for this level of excellence heading into the break.

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As expected, the trading deadline in the NHL passed with no trades for the Canadiens. The Olympics trade embargo will be in effect until Feb. 22.

There was only one trade on the final day. Rumour was the New York Rangers were asking the San Jose Sharks for Will Smith, or the Washington Capitals for Ryan Leonard in order to release Artemi Panarin.

What the Rangers got was considerably less, quite naturally. Asking for one of the great young players in the league in return for a 34-year-old making over $11 million is laughably inept. The Rangers are in for a long rebuild, if GM Chris Drury thought that was gonna fly.

The Rangers acquired Liam Greentree instead. He is a mid-level prospect who is in his fourth season at the Windsor Spitfires.

The Canadiens were not in the running for Panarin. An aging player, on the clock, isn’t what a club early in their rebuild needs, unless that player is Sidney Crosby.

The only Montreal rumour taking flight, and it makes sense as logical, is Patrik Laine could be on the move with the Canadiens keeping salary to facilitate the trade. Laine has been wearing a contact jersey at practice for the last two weeks. He is ready to play as soon as the Canadiens want him to.

Apparently, they don’t want him to.

The Canadiens rebuild has gone so well they didn’t envision that they would already want some salary cap space to add more talent to a winning hockey team.

One factor that isn’t being considered is that Laine was not healthy for his entire time in Montreal, playing on a bad knee that he hurt at his first training camp. Laine is now healthy, and he does look faster as he continues to skate with the club. However, now Laine can’t win a chance to prove himself that, if healthy, he can be better.

It doesn’t seem illogical to give Laine another look to see if he can provide more. There’s no downside to playing him, considering the Canadiens are attempting to unload him with no return, and paying half of his salary.

The worst that can happen is he plays poorly. That’s great news for the club that picks him up trying to lose more games for a higher draft pick.

To be continued. But not until after the Olympics when trades will be allowed until March 6.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.

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