The Montreal Canadiens hosted the high-flying Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night, aiming to secure two very important points in the race to qualify for the playoffs.
It was far from a perfect game, as shown by the fact that rookie netminder Jacob Dobbs had to make over 40 saves, but in the end, Montreal was able to pull out a crucial 5–2 victory.
Let's look at the highlights!
Nap first, hockey later
The Canadiens had a very bad start.
Or, to be more accurate, they failed to perform as the Hurricanes immediately jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
However, we've become accustomed to hubs requiring a certain amount of adversity before waking up, which is exactly what happened on Tuesday night.
Rookie Oliver Kapanen got the Habs on the board midway through the first period by scoring his 21st goal of the season.
A redirect from Kapanen keeps us on board!
A Kapanen redirect gets us on board!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/8MIDiy773m
- Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) 24 March 2026
you know who
Mister Saturday Night is somewhat of a misnomer. Yes, it's true that Cole Caufield loves to score on Saturday nights, but he also enjoys scoring on days ending with 'y'.
Caufield scored his 44th goal of the year early in the second period to tie the game, with the usual suspects, Juraj Slafkowski and Nick Suzuki getting their names on the scoresheet via assists in the game.
Tie, courtesy of Cole Caufield!
Tie game, courtesy of Cole Coffield!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/mCLMqy0Zvz
- Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) 25 March 2026
It appeared that Caufield had scored his 45th goal of the season moments later, but it turned out that the puck had deflected off Slafkowski before going in.
Nonetheless, the goal, which was Slafkowski's 28th of the season, gave the Canadiens a delicate 3–2 lead heading into the second intermission. For the record, the Canadiens were outshot 26-15 in 40 minutes of play.
Habs take lead on Juraj Slafkowski's goal pic.twitter.com/leCjB4Rkxw
- Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) 25 March 2026
rookie effect
With pressure mounting late in the third period, rookie Ivan Demidov capitalized on his breakaway opportunity with aplomb, putting the game out of reach.
As you can see in the video below, Demidov was clearly thinking about scoring a goal before the actual breakaway, and once he made his way into the offensive zone, it was already too late for the storm.
Gives up a great goal from Ivan Demidov on a breakaway #GoHabsGo Two goal lead! pic.twitter.com/RjfmwJeET5
- Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) 25 March 2026
The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Thursday, facing the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre, with puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.
All Montreal Canadiens stats are 5v5, via Natural Stat Trick, unless otherwise noted.
