Montreal Canadiens News and Notes
Not even playing injured can slow Marie-Philip Poulin down. [ Yahoo Sports | Yahoo Sports ]
Juraj Slafkovský wanted to be the guy for Slovakia, and he most emphatically has been. [ NHL ]
With the preliminary round over, here’s the schedule (so far) for Montreal’s remaining players in action. [ Canadiens ]
Questions for Montreal when the NHL season resumes. [ La Presse | TVA ]
Potential trade targets for the Habs after the Olympics. [...
about 2 months ago
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Marie-Philip Poulin scored two goals and became Canada’s all-time women’s Olympic goal-scorer in Canada’s 2-1 win over Switzerland to secure Canada’s spot in the gold medal game.
The win will set up a rematch with the United States on Thursday for the gold medal. The Americans beat Sweden 5-0 earlier in the day in their semi-final.
Poulin, who hurt her right knee earlier in the tournament, has three goals in her two games since returning.
Her Montreal Victoire teammate Ann-Renée...
about 2 months ago
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Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Juraj Slafkovský putting in a similar performance versus the best players in the world to what he did in 2022 with no NHL participation is the best indication of how far his game, and his maturity, has come in the last four years, says Marian Gaborik. [ NHL.com ]
Alexandre Carrier reminds people that Lane Hutson is still a second-year player getting used to the rigours of the NHL, so the Olympic break has been good rest for him. [ TVA Sports ]
...
about 2 months ago
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We now know the final rankings of the men’s preliminary groups after the final day of action on Sunday.
Switzerland 4, Czechia 3 [OT] (Group A)
Switzerland clinched second spot in Group A with an overtime win over the Czechs. They will enter the qualification round as the #6 seed.
Filip Chlapik opened the scoring for the Czechs in the first period, but Switzerland came back with two goals in 1:44 from Roman Josi and Timo Meier.
Radim Simek and Pius Suter traded goals early ...
about 2 months ago
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With shots 6-2 Canada six minutes into the opening period, France took the first penalty of the game when Macklin Celebrini was pulled down by Pierre Crinon. The power play looked as dangerous as it has all tournament, and while it didn’t score, the pressure carried through to five-on-five, and Tom Wilson buried a rebound to open the scoring for the Canadians.
Just 13 seconds later, France got the goal right back. A giveaway from Colton Parayko led to a quick shot that Jordan Binnington c...
about 2 months ago
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Less than 24 hours after thumping the Hershey Bears on the scoreboard and also in multiple scrums and fights, the Laval Rocket returned to Place Bell for a Valentine’s Day meeting with the Toronto Marlies. Love and compassion were things not exactly shared between the two sides after a line brawl earlier in the year, and a testy rematch at the end of January. A win over the Marlies on Saturday could propel the Rocket 10 points clear of second place in the division, a massive gap for their divi...
about 2 months ago
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2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
Preliminary Round Game 15: Switzerland vs. Czechia
How to watch
Start time: 6:10 AM EDT / 12:10 PM CET In Canada: Sportsnet (English) RDS (French) Streaming: CBC Gem, RDS, Sportsnet+
Canada has claimed top spot in Group A, but Switzerland and Czechia have a showdown for second place today. Each team claimed a win over France so far, and looked good in their games versus Canada. Now they see how they match up versus one another.
Preli...
about 2 months ago
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Montreal Canadiens news and notes
“It’s sometimes hard to believe he’s only 21.” Mike Matheson praised Juraj Slafkovský’s ability to step up in the biggest moments. [ TVA Sports ]
A loss to Sweden was just as good as a win for Slafkovský and Team Slovakia after he set up a last-minute goal to seal the goal-differential tiebreaker and win Group B. [ RDS | The Athletic ]
Slafkovský is propelling Slovakia to new heights, but does he have enough support to sustain it? [ The Athlet...
about 2 months ago
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A record-tying return for Captain Clutch, a Finnish flurry, and a chaotic Group B took centre stage in Saturday’s hockey action at the Olympics.
Sweden 5, Slovakia 3 (Group B)
Juraj Slafkovský had a goal and an assist in what he called one of the greatest losses of his career as a late goal by Dalibor Dvorsky have Slovakia the edge in a three-way tie-breaker to win Group B.
Elias Pettersson had two goals for Sweden, who had opened up a 5-2 lead, but Dvorsky’s power play goal wit...
about 2 months ago
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Fresh off of the AHL All-Star Game and riding a five-game winning streak, the Laval Rocket returned back to the ice with a six-point lead atop the AHL’s North Division. A win over their opponents, the Hershey Bears, would set Laval up with a potential eight-point gap heading in to the weekend. However, the Bears remained one of the AHL’s premier clubs and were not a team to be taken lightly.
The Rocket received a major boost to their lineup as Tobie Bisson returned from injury and slotted...
about 2 months ago
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2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
Preliminary Round Game 11: Sweden vs. Slovakia
How to watch
Start time: 6:10 AM EDT / 12:10 PM CET In Canada: Sportsnet (English) RDS (French) Streaming: CBC Gem, RDS, Sportsnet+
Sweden’s offence went dry in its rivalry game versus Finland, dropping to 1-1 in the group stage. They face a tough challenge today to finish with a second win as they face an undefeated Team Slovakia that has looked good through both of its games so far. The Slo...
about 2 months ago
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Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Michael Hage had three assists and the shootout-winner last night versus Gavin McKenna’s Penn State. [ RDS ]
Alexander Zharovsky now holds the KHL record for most points by an 18-year-old. [ RDS ]
Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, and Brendan Gallagher are the current-team representatives in the quarter-century top 25. [ Montreal Gazette ]
Samuel Montembeault and his wife Daryanne have announced that they are expecting a baby. [ TVA Sports ]
...
about 2 months ago
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Sweden had mixed results, but won the elimination game, while the opposite ran true for Czechia on Friday at the Olympics.
Finland 4, Sweden 1 (Group B)
Finland bounced back from a loss against Slovakia in a big way, throwing Group B into a bit of chaos. The Finns took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, and that would be all they needed. Rasmus Dahlin got one back early in the second, but that was as close as they came.
Joel Armia answered back for FInland, and they got an ...
about 2 months ago
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Less then a minute into the game between Canada and Switzerland, Shea Theodore lobbed a shot at the net that was missed by Akira Schmid. The puck hit the bottom of the crossbar, but dropped straight down and back out into the slot. Just a few seconds later, Switzerland transitioned up the ice in a three-on-one, requiring a snow-angel save from Logan Thompson. The tone was set for a high-event game between the only two teams yet to allow a goal in the tournament.
On a power play five minut...
about 2 months ago
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With Olympic hockey finally underway, and the NHL participating for the first time since 2014, we have some very exciting games on the schedule while the Habs are off. It started with Canada taking on Czechia yesterday, where the favourites steamrolled their way to a convincing 5-0 win. Jon Cooper received contributions from up and down his lineup, they didn’t allow many high-quality scoring chances, and even when the Czechs found a way to make Jordan Binnington work, he turned in one of his b...
about 2 months ago
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2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
Preliminary Round Game 7: Finland vs. Sweden
How to watch
Start time: 6:10 AM EDT / 12:10 PM CET In Canada: TSN (English) RDS (French) Streaming: CBC Gem, RDS, TSN+
The Finns had a lot of shots in their opening game, but in a familiar story for the nation it had trouble turning those into goals. They outshot Slovakia 40-25, but lost 4-1. Sweden, on the other hand, found plenty of offence on 60 shots versus Italy, originally getting a scar...
about 2 months ago
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Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Canadiens’ Top 25 this century: Ranking the Habs players who stood out, a five-part feature series. Part three covers 11-15. [ Montreal Gazette ]
Which Habs could suit up at the 2030 Winter Olympics? [ The Hockey Writers ]
Juraj Slafkovský has already established himself as an Olympic superstar. [ Daily Faceoff ]
Ivan Demidov sits in the shadow of Matthew Schaefer when it comes to the Calder Trophy. [ RDS ]
The Laval Rocket are looki...
about 2 months ago
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A busy day with five games after Canada and Finland played their postponed game, and four more men’s teams got underway, including Canada and the United States.
Switzerland 4, France 0 (Group A)
Switzerland scored twice in the first 3:06 with goals from Damien Riat and Janis Moser. France recovered after that, but were unable to beat Swiss goaltender Leonardo Genoni. Genoni made 27 saves and became the oldest goaltender in the NHL-at-the-Olympics era to record a shutout.
Timo Me...
about 2 months ago
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In an indication of the heightened level of these games at the Olympics, Connor McDavid threw an early hit in the corner of the offensive zone. Moments later, Czechia dragged McDavid down, and that sent what promises to be a productive power play onto the ice. It did have a few chances in its first two minutes of action in the tournament, but the Czechs did a good job defending to keep Canada off the board.
Canada was the first team to put the puck in the net as Nathan MacKinnon flew into...
about 2 months ago
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There were not nearly the amount of eyes on women’s hockey on February 24, 2019, but it was where my mind went to as soon as I saw Marie-Philip Poulin labouring on the bench at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
On that date, the final regular-season game of the CWHL season, Poulin went down at centre ice. It wasn’t immediately clear what happened, whether she simply got her foot stuck in a rut on the ice or if it was an awkward collision that ended badly. There weren’t cameras, and there weren’t ...
about 2 months ago
· 2 reads
2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
Preliminary Round Game 3: Switzerland vs. France
How to watch
Start time: 6:10 AM EDT / 12:10 PM CET In Canada: Sportsnet (English) ICI Télé (French) Streaming: CBC Gem, Sportsnet+
It has been almost 80 years since Switzerland won a medal in the men’s Olympic hockey tournament, last claiming bronze in 1948. But the country did claim silver in the most recent World Championship, losing 1-0 in overtime to Team USA on May 25, 2025.
This...
about 2 months ago
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Montreal Canadiens news and notes
Juraj Slafkovský notched two goals as Slovakia upset Finland 4-1 in the Olympic men’s hockey opener on Wednesday. [ CBC ]
Olympic dreams are coming true for Slafkovský, Nick Suzuki, Oliver Kapanen, and Alexandre Texier. [ NHL ]
Looking at the top 25 Canadiens players since 2000, numbers 16-20. [ Montreal Gazette ]
Montreal mayor talks about what the Canadiens mean to Montreal, their outreach to the community and rivalry with the Nordiques...
about 2 months ago
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The men’s tournament got underway on Wednesday, with two games that were very different than many expected heading into the day.
Slovakia 4, Finland 1 (Group B)
Juraj Slafkovský didn’t take long to showcase why he is Slovakia’s hero. He had two elite goals and an assist as the Slovaks get the tournament’s first upset in the very first game.
Finland had no answers for the Slovak’s top line when they were on the ice, and Samuel Hlavaj did the rest went they weren’t. Hlavaj made 39...
2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
Preliminary Round Game 1: Slovakia vs. Finland
How to watch
Start time: 10:40 AM EDT / 4:40 PM CET In Canada: CBC, TSN (English) ICI Télé (French) Streaming: CBC Gem, TSN
Two of the medallists from the 2022 Olympics start off the 2026 event. The 2022 champion, Finland, will begin its gold-medal defence versus reigning tournament MVP Juraj Slafkovský and Team Slovakia. Finland has a deeper pool of talent to draw upon than today’s opponent,...
Will Shoukri and Patrik Bexell recorded a 35-minute episode that briefly touched upon the Olympics (it’s hard not to, with the women’s tournament underway and the Marie-Philip Poulin injury news hanging over Team Canada) but the point of the show wasn’t the Games, it was Laval. With the AHL All-Star break here, I wanted to use the moment to zoom out to see what this event actually means, how often it turns into NHL opportunity, and why this year’s All-Star group is more prospect-heavy than peo...