Canadiens Come Home After Successful Trip

The Montreal Canadiens wrapped up their seven-game road trip over the weekend with stops in St. Louis and Dallas. On Saturday, the Habs suffered their second shutout of the season in a 2–0 loss to the Blues. The following day, they squeaked out a 4-3 overtime win against the Stars.

The Canadiens return home with an impressive 4-1-2 record during their road trip that includes the NHL holiday break. “We give ourselves a chance. It’s our intentions. We are organized, we are connected and we bring attitude. We stay on the task. There’s no perfect game, but in general we’re playing good hockey. It’s not one thing. It’s 20 guys putting on the jersey and it’s rare that there’s passengers,” Martin St. Louis described the success.

A four-game home stand begins this week with the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, the Florida Panthers on Thursday, and Detroit Red Wings on Saturday visiting the Bell Centre.

Habs Notes

Here are observations from this weekend’s matches.

• The Juraj Slafkovsky, Oliver Kapanen, Ivan Demidov line drove the team’s offense during the road trip. Slafkovsky led the way with 11 points, followed by Demidov with nine and Kapanen with four.
• Samuel Montembeault won for the second time in as many starts since returning from his conditioning stint in Laval. He gave the squad a chance to win in both appearances, and that’s exactly what you expect from your netminder. Has management seen enough to end the three-goalie tandem and revert back to the plan from the start of the season?
• St. Louis said in Dallas that players did some big plays that allowed them to come up victorious. One example came in overtime, when Wyatt Johnston slipped past Philip Danault’s coverage for a breakaway, but Montembeault answered with a huge save. Seconds later, Danault won a key offensive‑zone faceoff, and with a pick play from Demidov, created the space for Lane Hutson to drive to the net for the winner.
• Speaking of Danault, Kent Hughes didn’t acquire him for point production. He brought him in to play a shutdown role and take key draws, especially on the left side. St. Louis has trusted the veteran in those situations since the trade. Danault struggled in the faceoff dot on the first night, but he responded with a 64.9 percent success rate over the next five games.
• The momentum in Saturday’s game might have swung Montreal’s way if they had converted on a five‑on‑three that lasted 1:37. Montreal leads the NHL with eight five‑on‑three opportunities, but with only two goals in those situations, they sit 15th in the league. Both goals came against the Bruins on December 23.

World Junior Championship Notes

The IIHF World Junior Championship wraps up in Minnesota with the medal games on Monday. Here are updates on the five Canadiens representatives at the tournament.

• Michael Hage has been the most noticeable representative at the tournament. He has been outstanding for Canada with 11 points and plus-6 rating through six games and coach Dale Hunter uses the forward in key roles with the team’s best forwards. In Sunday’s semifinal game against Czechia, Hage earned two assists, created numerous scoring chances hitting three posts, and was granted two penalty shots.
• LJ Mooney obtained three assists in five games for the United States. He took nine shots on goal, a minus-2 rating, and averaging 17:13 ice time. Finland knocked the United States out in Friday’s quarterfinals.
• Aatos Koivu tournament has not gone well. In the preliminary‑round game against Canada, he played just 1:10 and then spent the rest of the contest on the bench. Canada scored on both of Koivu’s shifts. The Canadiens 2024 third‑round pick sat out the next two games as a scratch. Finland plays for the bronze medal on Monday.
• Carlos Handel finished the competition with four assists in five games for Germany. The defenceman drafted 177th overall in the most recent draft, took 18 shots and a plus-1 rating with 24:02 average ice time
• Mikus Vecvanags started one game for Latvia in a 8-0 loss against Finland. Sweden eliminated Latvia in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Rocket Notes

The Laval Rocket kicked off the week on the road in Belleville and defeated the Senators 4-3. On the weekend, they split a double header against the Utica Comets (New Jersey Devils) at Place Bell with a 5-4 overtime win on Friday, and a 4-3 loss the following night.

The Rocket head on the road to face the Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres) and the Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning) on Saturday.

Here are notes from the week.

• Alex Belzile continues to play a key role in the team’s success. The veteran scored four times and added three assists in the two victories. He earned the AHL’s first star on Friday after his four‑point performance against the Comets. The 34‑year‑old is on a sequence of 14 goals and five assists over his last 12 games.
• Sean Farrell had a good week, producing five points in the wins against Belleville and Utica. After going five straight games without a point, Farrell has picked up points in three of his last four contests.
• Jared Davison scored the game winning goal in both of Laval’s wins. Since his return from his stint in the NHL, Davidson has three points in six games.
• Marc Del Gaizo returned to the lineup on Wednesday after missing five games with an upper body injury. Del Gaizo was the victim of a hit by former Canadien Michael Pezzetta on December 12th that led to Belzile, Laurent Dauphin and Joshua Roy’s suspensions. The defenceman scored twice on Saturday against the Comets.

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