NHL: Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens, nick suzuki, juraj slafkovsky
Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, looking to carry their momentum from the previous month into November.

The Habs put together an early two-goal lead, however, as is often the case, the game necessitated overtime, where Montreal emerged with a 4-3 win.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Hot Start

Believe it or not, a forward by the name of Cole Caufield scored the opening goal for the Habs.

It was Caufield’s 10th goal of the year, not to mention Nick Suzuki’s 11th-straight game in which he registered his name on the scoresheet.

Even though some have suggested Caufield does not belong on Team USA’s 2026 Winter Olympics roster, they’d be wise to remember few players around the league do a better job scoring important goals, and that the USA hasn’t reached the podium since 2010.

In other words, it would be ridiculous to omit Caufield from the American lineup, but I digress.

As per tradition, all offence runs through the first line in Montreal.

Physical Battles

I still don’t understand why Zachary Bolduc was demoted to the fourth line, especially after his fantastic play to start the year, but there’s no doubt he can inject energy into the lineup when he gets the chance to deliver a big hit.

Bolduc took no pity on Jake Sanderson, lining him up with a huge body check that set the physical tone in the matchup. You’ll note that Kurtis MacDermid decided to go after Bolduc following the clean hit, leading to a powerplay for the Habs.

Making Them Pay

The only proper way to respond to poor decision-making by an attempted hockey player is to score a goal, and that’s exactly what the Habs did following MacDermid’s penalty.

Suzuki’s assist, his second of the night, was of the highlight-reel variety, but since we’ve given so much credit to the team’s leading scorer since the start of the season, we’ll focus on Juraj Slafkovsky, who anticipated the play nicely to score his sixth goal of the year.

I know there have been some concerns about Slafkovsky’s play this year, but if I am being honest, it doesn’t really track.

He’s been playing quite well, using his size advantage whenever possible, and taking advantage of high-quality scoring chances, as we saw on Saturday night.

Foot Off The Gas

It’s easy to forget given their hot start to the year, but the Habs are very much a team that has plenty of room for growth, and that includes holding onto hard-fought leads.

The Habs once again decided to drop the tempo, once again leading to their opponents tying the game.

Yes, the Senators were lucky to head into the second intermission tied, but it doesn’t matter how the goals are scored, they all count the same.

Settling Scores

Senators forward Nick Cousins was finally convinced to face the music, given that the Habs had not forgotten about his ugly slash on rookie Ivan Demidov in the preseason.

Jayden Struble made quick work of his opponent, as everyone expected, with an emphasis on ‘quick’, as Cousins lasted just a few punches before going down.

The Other Shoe Drops

Once again, the Habs played with fire, but unlike some of their more memorable wins in October, it backfired spectacularly against the Senators.

Tim Stutzle’s goal was very nice, and I don’t want to pretend otherwise, but it would have been a perfect opportunity for Montembeault to shine.

Rookie Impact

Just when it seemed the Habs were down and out, the two most promising young players in the lineup combined for a very impressive goal to tie the game at 3 in the dying moments of the third period.

It was Ivan Demidov’s third goal of the year, and Lane Hutson’s umpteenth assist in a crucial moment for the Canadiens.

Of Corsi Did

The Habs would go on to win in overtime, because that’s what they do.

Though it should be said that for once, it didn’t involve heroics from Caufield. This time around, it was a great shot via Alex Newhook.

Additional Montreal Canadiens Notes And Statistics

  • Alexandre Carrier tracks every single puck with reckless abandon, and that’s the type of team-first attitude you want to see, but he sure does take a lot of massive hits every night. As a few fans pointed out, it’s reminiscent of former Hab Josh Gorges.
  • Samuel Montembeault has to start making big saves. There’s no other way around it.
  • Players who aren’t named Suzuki, Caufield, or Slafkovsky have to start producing at 5v5. There’s no other way around it. Yes, Montreal’s top line has been a force in the last calendar year, but they will inevitably hit a slow patch.
  • After 40 minutes of play, the Habs held an 8-2 edge in high-quality scoring chances at 5v5. I don’t want to pretend that squandering a 2-0 lead is a positive, but in the grand scheme of things, the process was encouraging.
  • It’s incredible how often Noah Dobson manages to pull off a pass with an extremely high level of difficulty, while being pressured by multiple opponents.
  • Full marks to the Senators, as they took over the game in the third period, outchancing the Canadiens 4-0 at 5v5.
  • Go Blue Jays!

The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Tuesday, facing the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.

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

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