The Montreal Canadiens snapped a five-game losing streak on Saturday with a 5-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Before declaring the slump over, it is worth noting that the Leafs came into the Bell Centre with a decimated roster. Forwards Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, and starting goalie Anthony Stolarz amongst the absentees.
This week, the team heads west to face the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday, followed by back-to-back afternoon puck drops against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, and the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Habs Notes
Here are some latest observations around the team.
- On Saturday, the Canadiens took a 3-0 lead through the first 25 minutes of play courtesy of a goal by Lane Hutson and a pair from Noah Dobson. Dobson’s acquisition was expected to increase the offence generated by the defensemen and early results so far are positive. Hutson, Dobson, and Mike Matheson are in the top six producers, along with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Ivan Demidov. Entering Sunday’s action, the Canadiens 61 points from the blue line places them second in the NHL behind the Avalanche’s 63 points.
- Florian Xhekaj made his NHL debut on Saturday, and passed the audition. He finished the contest with one assist, two shots on goal, three hits, and a fight in 9:48 of ice time. Xhekaj impressed during training camp but the Canadiens cut him alongside Owen Beck in the final days. Following a 24-goal Laval season, he struggled to produce offensively this year with two goals and four points in 16 games. Management recalled him after the Washington game to add sandpaper. His style of play is a good fit to form a line with Jake Evans and Josh Anderson.
- Meanwhile, the struggling power play got a new look versus Toronto. Ivan Demidov returned to the top unit, bumping Juraj Slafkovsky to the second unit. On Thursday, Zachary Bolduc was placed on the first unit in place of Demidov. Bolduc stayed at the bumper spot, where he produced nine goals with the St. Louis Blues last season.
Depth Move
The recent injuries to Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook are testing the team’s depth. Meanwhile on Saturday, St. Louis dressed four rookie forwards in the lineup. If the objective remains to clinch a playoff spot at a minimum, Kent Hughes needs to add experience to the forward group. On Saturday, Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canadiens stood as favourites to sign Alexandre Texier. The 26-year-old was on waivers pending contract termination by the St. Louis Blues. On Sunday, the Canadiens confirmed the news as Texier signed a $1 million prorated deal for this season.
It has been a slow start for the winger, with one assist in eight games. Texier was in his second season with the organization after spending five seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has totalled 91 points in 240 career NHL games.
Rocket Notes
The Laval Rocket were at Place Bell for a three-game homestand. On Wednesday, the Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning) won 3-2, but the Rocket bounced back with 4-3 and 7-2 victories against the Belleville Senators (Ottawa) on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Two prospects stood out during the week.
- Adam Engstrom obtained seven points during the week, including five points on Saturday. He scored in all three games, while having key responsibilities on the top power play unit and on the penalty kill. As a result, the Canadiens rewarded him with a first recall on Sunday, and possibly making an NHL debut this week.
- Similarly, David Reinbacher had a solid weekend on both sides of the ice. In the two games against the Senators, he scored three times and added one assist. Meanwhile, Pascal Vincent used him on the second power play unit and gave him regular ice time on the penalty kill.
- Finally, the Trois-Rivieres Lions signed forward Joel Teasdale to a contract. The 26-year-old spent three seasons with the Canadiens organization from 2020 to 2023. He played with the Rocket during that time period and obtained a two-game stint in the NHL, where he obtained one assist. Since then, he played one season for the Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning AHL affiliates, and began this season in Slovakia.
