10 Thoughts: A Wild Win in Carolina

The Habs entered 2026 with a road game against Carolina on Thursday, a team they struggle mightily against on the road.  Their offence had a strong showing, however, and it was just enough to get them the 7-5 win.

Starting Lines

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Zachary Bolduc
Juraj Slafkovsky — Oliver Kapanen — Ivan Demidov
Alexandre Texier – Phillip Danault – Josh Anderson
Samuel Blais – Joe Veleno — Brendan Gallagher

Adam Engstrom – Noah Dobson
Lane Hutson — Alexandre Carrier
Arber Xhekaj – Jayden Struble 

10 Thoughts

1) Before the game, head coach Martin St. Louis had said that his New Year’s Resolution (or, more accurately, wish) was that the Habs would keep up with their strong starts but score early more often to be rewarded for those efforts.  That’s ultimately what happened here as Nick Suzuki snapped a shot past Brandon Bussi just past the three-minute mark, one that few saw go in as it was out of the net quite quickly.  Then, on the next shift, Ivan Demidov sent a cross-ice feed to Oliver Kapanen who had a wide-open net to make it 2-0.  Two goals before the game was five minutes old; I think that qualifies as being rewarded.

2) With a three-goalie rotation, it’s hard to keep goalies fresh.  With a holiday break in the middle of things, it’s even harder.  Jakub Dobes got the start for Montreal in this one.  It was his first outing in more than a week and a half and it showed.  He was battling puck control early and when that happens, he’s usually not sharp.  That was a sign of things to come.

3) Montreal’s penalty kill has started to be a bit leaky again in recent games and that trend continued into the first game of 2026.  Just past the midway mark, Nikolaj Ehlers beat Dobes with a good, but unscreened shot to get Carolina on the board.  Then, in the first minute of the second, their power play struck again with Alexander Nikishin’s point shot hitting a body in front and got past Dobes.  That’s now five power play goals allowed in the last five games on 16 opportunities.  Yes, Jake Evans is out and Mike Matheson missed this one but this still feels like an area that needs to be further improved beyond getting Phillip Danault last month.

4) In between those two power play markers, the Hurricanes got on the board two more times.  Sebastian Aho tipped a Joel Nystrom point shot home while Andrei Svechnikov put home a rebound less than three minutes later to give Carolina three goals in less than five minutes.  So much for that good start.  I thought there was a chance Dobes would be getting the hook but St. Louis opted to stick with him.

5) While no one would say the Canadiens have been playing well in second periods lately, they’ve at least been better in recent weeks.  That would be a good way to explain what happened in this one.  After allowing the Nikishin goal, they didn’t get down on themselves and a few minutes later, Samuel Blais buried a shot in tight past Bussi to get it back to a one-goal deficit.  It was his second point of the game and he now has four points in five games since being recalled from Laval.  That’s better than I think anyone could have realistically expected.

6) Alexandre Texier isn’t necessarily the best complementary fit on the top line, especially compared to Juraj Slafkovsky’s skill-set.  But he has held his own with Suzuki and Cole Caufield and with a few minutes left in the second, Texier went in on a two-on-one with the latter and Caufield was able to squeak a shot past Bussi, one that the netminder probably would want back.  All of a sudden, the game was tied…for all of one shift.  Barely 20 seconds later, Ehlers sent a perfect pass to Josh Anderson in the Carolina end and he beat Bussi with an unscreened shot that the goalie would definitely want back.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news for Anderson as he was injured on his next shift and didn’t play in the third.

7) Slafkovsky usually saves his best for the second half of the season but he has gotten a head start on that in recent weeks and that continued in this one.  He picked up five blocked shots to help on the defensive end and with nine minutes left in the third, he went end-to-end, skating past and around several Carolina defenders before taking a low percentage shot near the goal line that somehow squeaked past Bussi (who came into this game with a 13-1-1 record) to give Montreal a two-goal lead.

8) That breathing room was certainly needed.  Rod Brind’Amour pulled Bussi with four minutes left on an offensive zone draw.  Eventually, the Hurricanes got set up and Aho potted his second goal and fifth point of the night off a cross-ice feed from Ehlers that got through several defenders.  Fortunately for the Habs, Lane Hutson buried a long empty-netter to seal the victory.

9) I was a bit surprised that Dobes wasn’t pulled after his rough start but the decision to stick with him was rewarded nicely.  As the second period went on, the young netminder was able to settle down, looking less jittery while his puck control improved.  He made a few big stops in the third to quash any hopes of another comeback.  On the whole, it wasn’t a great game overall but Dobes and the Habs should feel good about how things went in the second half.

10) Earlier this week, I wrote about how Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble’s leashes have been getting much shorter as of late with neither doing enough to earn the trust of the coaches.  But with Matheson out, the Habs didn’t have a choice but to play both of them a lot more.  Both responded well.  Struble had a fairly quiet but steady game and I say that in a good way as that’s what they needed.  Meanwhile, Xhekaj saw more than double the ice time he had in last week’s games and had a solid defensive effort while bringing some needed snarl.  That should earn them a bit more rope for now.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Nick Suzuki – Getting the nod to Canada’s Olympic team certainly meant a lot to him and he played with a lot of confidence in this one.  An early goal didn’t hurt things either.  His line isn’t as good without Slafkovsky on it but it’s getting better each game, a sign that he and Caufield are adapting relatively well.

Stats: 1 goal, +3 rating, 2 shots, 3 hits, 19:08 TOI

2nd Star: Alexandre Texier – Before his promotion to the top line, Texier was pretty quiet on the new-look third line and it was fair to wonder if the ‘new team boost’ was wearing off.  But he has looked a lot better since being flipped with Zach Bolduc and had a pair of primary assists on his linemate’s goals.  As a result, this new top line is showing some potential.

Stats: 2 assists, +2 rating, 2 PIMS, 2 shots, 15:08 TOI

3rd Star: Samuel Blais – This is more of an honourable mention note but I wanted to get him in here.  With how fast the Habs play, I was worried that he might not be able to keep up but the fourth line has done well on its cycle game lately with his addition being a big part of that.  Obviously, the surprising offensive contribution doesn’t hurt while he had a game-high seven hits despite limited minutes.  He’s finding a way to make an impact.

Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, +1 rating, 2 shots, 7 hits, 10:05 TOI