For the first time since 2014, NHL players will be participating in the Winter Olympics. The last time members of hockey’s top league entered the tournament, the gold medal was claimed by Canada as the nation won every game, backed by the steady presence of Carey Price to allow just three goals in the tournament. This time around, Canada is once again a favourite, but without such stellar goaltending to rely on other teams could take that crown and claim to be the new leader in best-on-best in...
about 3 hours ago
| 0 reads
It was another light day of action on Sunday, as the schedule thinned out before two straight days with four games per day before the start of the men’s tournament.
Sweden 4, France 0 (Group B)
Sweden both all-but-clinched top spot in Group B and officially eliminated France with a 4-0 win on Sunday. The scoreline might be a bit surprising in that it wasn’t overwhelming, but this result was as much as a mismatch as Canada’s 4-0 win over Switzerland.
The Swedes got three first pe...
about 23 hours ago
| 1 read
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Nick Suzuki appears set to start the Olympics on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand. [ TSN ]
Jon Cooper hopes Suzuki can be the setup man for MacKinnon that he has been for Cole Caufield. [ RDS ]
Suzuki was too humble to compare himself to Sidney Crosby for an assignment as child, and that’s why the comparison is apt. [ Sportsnet ]
It was important for the Laval Rocket players to reassert their home dominance last week and get...
1 day ago
| 1 read
On the third day of women’s hockey action and the first official day of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the two final teams played their first game and we got some clarity in the standings.
Germany 5, Japan 2 (Group B)
In what was a must-win for Germany to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive, they came out strong against Japan. The Germans opened up a 5-0 lead midway through the second period led by four points from Boston Fleet forward Laura Kluge and two goals and an assist from Nicola H...
2 days ago
| 0 reads
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
This season is showing the benefits of Montreal having a strong understanding of the character of both Ivan Demidov and Matvei Michkov in their draft years. [ Montreal Gazette ]
Which Canadiens player will benefit most from the Olympic pause? [ Montreal Gazette ]
Another strong game from Joshua Roy helped the Laval Rocket win 4-1 on Saturday to sweep the weekend series with the Cleveland Monsters. [ AHL.com ]
Around the league and elsew...
2 days ago
| 0 reads
With the final day of NHL action complete as the league takes a break for three weeks for the Winter Olympics, the Montreal Canadiens’ currently sit on 72 points, with only five teams ranked ahead of them in the overall standings.
As impressive as that performance through 57 games has been, Montreal is only three points clear of fifth place in the division. The Detroit Red Wings required one extra game to reach 72 points and rank third. The Buffalo Sabres hold the first wild-card spot, an...
3 days ago
| 0 reads
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Experience coaching at both the NHL and AHL levels gave Pascal Vincent plenty of lessons to bring into his current role with the Laval Rocket. [ AHL.com ]
The Laval Rocket hired Ilia Ejov as their new goaltending coach. [ La Presse ]
Joshua Roy had two goals and Florian Xhekaj recorded three points as the Rocket came back to beat the Cleveland Monsters on Friday night. [ AHL.com ]
Samuel Montembeault is the player the Canadiens need to se...
3 days ago
| 0 reads
Through two days and five games at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Montreal Victoire players and staff have made their impact felt in Italy.
Sweden 4, Germany 1 (Group B)
Montreal Victoire forward Lina Ljungblom scored Sweden’s first two goals, including the game-winner as Sweden won their opener and solidified their status as favourites in Group B.
Ljungblom has had a tough couple of years. She came into the PWHL with high expectations, but had just three goals and three assists in 2...
4 days ago
| 0 reads
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
The surging Canadiens roll into the Olympic break on a high note. [ Montreal Gazette | RDS | The Athletic ]
Seven observations about the Habs at the break. [ La Presse ]
Martin St-Louis has the youngest team in the NHL playing a grown-up game. [ Montreal Gazette ]
Jeff Gorton is exploring all possibilities ahead of the NHL trade deadline. [ Sportsnet ]
Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel was not happy at the amount of bleu-blanc-et...
4 days ago
| 0 reads
With a three-week layoff for the Olympics looming, the Montreal Canadiens were in Manitoba on Wednesday night to meet the Winnipeg Jets. There was a problem, however, as most of the roster looked to have already checked out for that layoff. The lowly Jets were in full control of the game from the opening puck drop, and the Habs looked flustered for the better part of the first two periods. But they pulled another rabbit out of their hat, finding the scoring they needed to take a 5-1 win that p...
5 days ago
| 0 reads
After a long road trip to kick off the new year, the Laval Rocket found themselves back in the friendly confines of Place Bell to kick off five straight games on home ice. With back-to-back wins over the Toronto Marlies and Syracuse Crunch, the Rocket had built some momentum for a meeting with the last-place Utica Comets.
Injuries to Jared Davidson and David Reinbacher continued to loom large, especially with the continued absence of Tobie Bisson as well. Sammy Blais hadn’t made it in tim...
5 days ago
| 1 read
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Jacob Fowler is working hard to make his way back between the Canadiens pipes. [ Montreal Gazette ]
Meanwhile, Fowler gives nod to Quebec with special AHL All-Star Game mask. [ TVA Sports ]
Bringing back Philip Danault has become one of the Montreal’s most impactful in-season decisions. [ The Hockey Writers ]
The pressure in Montreal can be intense, and even the Laval Rocket aren’t spared their share of scrutiny. [ The AHL ]
Samuel B...
5 days ago
| 0 reads
First period
The Jets have come out with a strong start. Kyle Connor tested Samuel Montembeault 10 seconds in, and the puck has mostly been in Montreal’s zone since.
The second shot Montembeault faces sees the goaltender slide off his angle as the puck comes in, and it just glances off his side and wide.
Josh Anderson goes off for high-sticking (there have been a lot of those calls this season) and the Jets get the first power play. Montembeault is lunging all over the place t...
5 days ago
| 1 read
Game 57: Montreal Canadiens @ Winnipeg Jets
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST In Canada: Sportsnet In the Canadiens regions: RDS (French) Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, Sportsnet+
Jakub Dobeš may have had a six-game winning streak come to an end on Monday night in Winnipeg, but he was still able to extend his personal points streak to 10 games as that match went to overtime. Starting the previous four games for the Canadiens, he will begin his Olympic break a bit early to let Samuel Mon...
5 days ago
| 1 read
UPDATE [Wednesday, February 4, 2:15pm Eastern]: Blais has cleared waivers.
With the National Hockey League’s Olympic roster freeze going into effect on Wednesday, the Montreal Canadiens have placed forward Samuel Blais on waivers.
Blais has played 13 games for the Canadiens in the NHL with two goals and three assists, but his last game was on January 15. It is fair to assume he wouldn’t have played in the team’s final game before the break on Wednesday in Winnipeg, so he was sta...
6 days ago
| 0 reads
Game 57: Montreal Canadiens @ Winnipeg Jets
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST In Canada: Sportsnet In the Canadiens regions: RDS (French) Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, Sportsnet+
In the last four games, the Montreal Canadiens have played the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights, a Colorado Avalanche club at the peak of the NHL, a Buffalo Sabres team on a serious charge up the standings, and a healthy Minnesota Wild squad that got back to looking like one of the true contenders...
6 days ago
| 1 read
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Kirby Dach is giving the Habs what they need in playoff-style games. [ Sportsnet | La Presse ]
The Canadiens did not bring their A-game to Minnesota, but they earned a point a more immature version of them never would have earned. [ The Athletic | RDS ]
Management has provided coach Martin St-Louis with the type of defencemen he needs to play the system he has put in place. [ Montreal Gazette ]
“Every day I’m thinking about what I can do ...
6 days ago
| 1 read
Montreal Canadiens News and Notes
The case for Nick Suzuki getting more Selke votes. [ Montreal Gazette ]
Juraj Slafkovský awarded the Molson Cup for January. [ Canadiens ]
Putting Kirby Dach back on the first line, now that he’s back, worked out. [ La Presse ]
The surprising similarities between Cole Caufield and Mike Matheson, Suzuki’s role on Team Canada, and more. [ The Athletic ]
Matheson gets some of the hardest assignments, not just on the Habs, but in the lea...
7 days ago
| 2 reads
First period
Thirty-eight seconds in, Minnesota scores on its first shot as Joel Eriksson Ek sends the puck higher than Jakub Dobeš’s pad but lower than his blocker on a shot off the rush.
Oliver Kapanen immediately goes to the box for hooking Zuccarello, and a hot power play goes to work.
Phillip Danault races onto a puck in the neutral zone and goes in for a shot. It looks like Montreal is going to be aggressive versus this Wild man advantage tonight.
Noah Dobson gets t...
7 days ago
| 0 reads
Game 56: Montreal Canadiens @ Minnesota Wild
Start time: 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST In the Canadiens regions: RDS (French) In the Wild region: FanDuel Sportsnet North/Wisconsin Streaming: Prime Monday Night Hockey
It’s a very different team the Montreal Canadiens will face tonight in St. Paul, Minnesota, not just because almost all of the Wild’s players are now healthy after a handful were kept home for the first game in Montreal, but because they’ve come out of the doldrums they wer...
7 days ago
| 1 read
Game 56: Montreal Canadiens @ Minnesota Wild
Start time: 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST In the Canadiens regions: RDS (French) In the Wild region: FanDuel Sportsnet North/Wisconsin Streaming: Prime Monday Night Hockey
In previewing the recent Montreal Canadiens game against the Colorado Avalanche, it was pointed out how mediocre the leaders of the Central Division were in January. Starting the first month of 2026 with a 5-4-2 record, the Minnesota Wild finished strong with three con...
8 days ago
| 1 read
NHL Player of the Month: Cole Caufield
Cole Caufield wasn’t playing at his usual level in December, outscored by two teammates after only scoring five goals of his own. On January 2, he found out that he hadn’t been named to the U.S. National Men’s Team for the Olympics, and, like Michael Jordan, he took that personally.
Caufield couldn’t be stopped in the first month of 2026, and with more game days than off days to kick off the new year, that resulted in 13 goals through 16 games p...
8 days ago
| 3 reads
Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Mike Matheson has become the defenceman most used versus elite opponents in the entire NHL. [ La Presse ]
No one has been more clutch than Cole Caufield this NHL season. [ TVA Sports ]
Bill Guerin answered questions about his roster makeup for Team USA, speaking about Caufield, Lane Hutson, and others who weren’t named. [ TVA Sports ]
Montreal got quality goaltending and timely penalty-killing to beat the Buffalo Sabres, things that had b...
8 days ago
| 0 reads
The Montreal Canadiens played the biggest game of their season to date on Saturday night, visiting the Buffalo Sabres, who entered the game just ahead of the Habs in the standings. A win would not only move Montreal into third place, but close the gap between them and the teams at the very top of the division and conference. They opened the game with a strong first period, taking a one-goal lead with a power play goal, before a disastrous second period saw them enter the final frame trailing b...
9 days ago
| 2 reads
The Laval Rocket came into Saturday’s matchup against the rival Toronto Marlies looking to build some momentum. After dropping five of its previous seven games, Laval won a tight matchup against the Syracuse Crunch on Friday, taking a step in the right direction.
The lines were nearly identical to those of Friday. Unfortunately, just one game after returning from injury, Xavier Simoneau drew back out of the lineup again. The ailment is most likely due to the massive impact he had with the...
9 days ago
| 2 reads