Playoff Race, Caufield Hits 40, Prospect Highlights

Published on: 22 3 月, 2026 by admin

Montreal - It feels like there's more Montreal Canadiens news every hour, and we're all bound to miss a story or two. On Sundays, we always recap relevant NHL news you may have missed, to help you stay in the Canadiens loop.

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Montreal Canadiens News and Notes

The Canadiens lost 4-3 to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, a disappointing result when you consider they held a 3-2 lead midway through the game. As usual, the Canadiens had effective stretches, which combined with the turnovers, made them look like a junior team. Consistently inconsistent has been the theme of the season for the Habs. [Canadiens Highlights: Hard-Fought Loss Versus Ducks]

Another day, another point for top Canadian prospect Michael Hayes. With his goal against Penn State, Hayes now has 50 points in just 36 games. [Canadiens Prospect Rankings – No. 1 Dynamic Michael Hage]

The Laval Rocket split their weekend games, losing 5-2 to the Utica Comets on Friday, and then winning 4-3 in a shootout versus the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday. Owen Beck scored his 10th goal of the season in the win, while Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 28 of 31 shots sent his way.

Alexander Zharovsky had a great game and reached the 40-point mark in the KHL with several three-point efforts. He scored a goal and an assist against the Shanghai Dragons, ending an eight-game scoreless streak.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q6aMUhL4pA[/embed]

Speaking of talented prospects, Bryce Pickford scored his 44th goal of the year, meaning he is now tied with Cameron Schmidt for the league lead. There's no doubt, Pickford is enjoying one of the most encouraging D+1 seasons in recent memory.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2yH7dl20gU[/embed]

Cole Caufield is the first Canadiens player to reach 40 goals since Vincent Damphousse in 1993–94. Caufield scored the overtime winner against the Boston Bruins to secure two very important points in the playoff race. [Canadiens Highlights: Caufield Hits 40 In Crucial Win]

Speaking of Caufield, when asked what comes next after 40 he had a great response.

It should be noted that Caufield is now just one goal behind Jack Hughes for most goals scored by any player drafted in 2019, despite having played 62 fewer games than the New Jersey Devils forward.

More unfortunate news on the injury front, as Kirby Dach will be absent for between two to four weeks with an upper body injury. Dach was forced to leave Sunday's game after contact with Anaheim Ducks forward Jeffrey Wiel. With Dach out of commission, Zachary Bolduc returned to the lineup before the game against the Boston Bruins. [Canadiens Preview: Dobes Faces Bruins, Dach Injured]

It's very easy to blame goaltending for all of Montreal's problems this year, but the truth is that the Canadiens allow too many high-danger chances while creating too few to balance out their poor defensive play. Poor goal setting is a symptom of the problem, not the cause. [Playoff Discussion: Canadiens Issues Go Beyond Bad Goaltending]

David Rickenbacker has officially signed with Kent Hughes' former management company Quartex. When it comes to Canadiens players represented by Shawn Coffey he joins Lane Hutson and Jacob Fowler. Rickenbacker finished fourth in our most recent edition of the top Montreal Canadiens prospects. [Top Canadiens Prospects – No. 4 David Reinbacher]

A closer look at how Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield managed to touch the 40-goal mark, the first Montreal player to accomplish the feat since Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94. The most impressive aspect of his goal-scoring dominance is that he does most of his damage at even strength. No other NHLer has more goals per 60 (even-strength) in the NHL. [Cole Caufield Dominance – 40 Goals By The Numbers]

It must be said that very few players enjoy playing hockey as much as Caufield. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he's better at scoring goals than most NHLers.

The playoff race remains fierce in the Eastern Conference, with the Habs just a few points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team on the outside looking in. There are also the Ottawa Senators in the mix, making it another exciting sprint to the end. The good news is that Canadians hold their destiny in their own hands, as long as they find ways to accumulate significant points.

One reason it's been difficult for the Canadiens to miss out on a playoff spot is that climbing the standings at the end of the season is a tough sell, especially when there are three-point games in play. Both Ottawa and Columbus have produced a great series of games, and yet, they are still struggling to make their way into the playoff picture.

Everything about prospect Bryce Pickford's season has been impressive, and his path to the WHL has been impressive too, as evidenced by the interesting video of him put together by the league. [Canadiens Top 20 Prospects: No.7 – Extraordinary Pickford]

Head coach Martin Saint-Louis spent a lot of time working on the power play in practice, focusing on the top unit. Montreal still has a top-10 power play, but given the talent on their first power play unit, not to mention the overpassing issue, there's clearly still work to be done.

While some insiders have suggested that the Canadiens were actively involved in trade talks, including for players like Nazem Kadri or Matthew Neese, Pierre LeBrun does not believe that player has been identified, at least not yet. Considering all of the rumors involving Hubs come from outside sources, he may be on to something. Like a bucket or a proper fishing boat owned by anyone other than Henry, Kent Hughes doesn't leak.

As for Elliotte Friedman, he reported that the Habs showed "significant interest" in Nese, while also revealing that "everyone has denied the report". [32 Thoughts]

The Canadiens have a relatively healthy power play, but they could immediately improve on that if they decided to take a few more shots every game. The Habs rank seventh in the NHL on power plays, but are among the teams that take the fewest shots. [Canadiens Powerplay Issues Reflected In One Key Statistic]

Thursday night's game between the Habs and Detroit Red Wings was important for both clubs, but the Canadiens made too many mistakes, giving up valuable points. [Canadiens Highlights: Habs Drop Four-Point Game]

Despite a disappointing end to Thursday's loss against the Detroit Red Wings, the Canadiens were fired by head coach Martin Saint-Louis on Friday. The decision caused a lot of anger on social media, but if we remove emotions from the equation, it would be fair to suggest that sometimes the carrot yields better results than the stick.

Is anyone surprised that Lane Hutson decided to practice despite having a day off? Oliver Kapanen joined Hutson, with both players spending time working with skills coach Adam Nicholls.

Vincent Arseneau is a despicable, mean man. He made quick work of Springfield Thunderbirds winger Cale Casey in the Rockets' 4–1 victory.

There were also some other incidents that did not involve a Rockets player demolishing his opponent. Samuel Blais (11), Jared Davidson (16), Philipp Messer (9), and Florian Czekaj (15) found the back of the net for the Rockets, while Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 28 of 29 shots to seal the win.

There was some unfortunate Montreal news on Friday, as former Montreal Expos announcer Roger Brulotte passed away. He was 79 years old.

Jacob Fowler was given the start against the New York Islanders on Saturday night, but the story of the evening was Montreal's dominance in a crucial game that had huge implications for the playoffs. Caufield led the way with his third career shutout, while Slafkowski contributed two goals in the 7–3 victory. [Canadiens Highlights: Mr. Saturday Night Stars In Pivotal Win]

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Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The... More about Mark Dumont
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