The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night, looking to bounce back after a frustrating loss to the New York Rangers on the weekend.
Thanks to a few goals from some of the youngest players in the lineup, the Canadiens emerged with a 4-2 win.
Let’s dive into the highlights!
Kapow-nen
It was a great start for the Canadiens, punctuated by Oliver Kapanen’s fourth goal of the year. We have to give Ivan Demidov credit for creating space in a high-danger scoring area, as well as Alex Newhook for supporting the play.
Of course, the most impressive aspect of the play was Alex Carrier’s impressive work to keep the play alive while facing three Sabres. It may just be that he’s more comfortable, but we’re seeing a lot more offensive-minded plays by Carrier this season, and the results have been encouraging.
On the flip side of the coin, Buffalo’s lack of interest in the first period was difficult to ignore. It was lethargy on ice.
Oliver Kapanen scores his fourth goal of the year after a nice play by Ivan Demidov. Full marks to Carrier for keeping the puck in the offensive zone. 1-0 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/DDvnOxGAsU
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 21, 2025
Future Watch
Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov didn’t score while playing 4v4, but their impressive puck possession skills were enough to breathe some life into the Bell Centre. You may argue that they over-passed, and you’d be right, but we probably shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Les jeunes s’amusent
Let the kids have fun#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/K9DeX78R4Q
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 21, 2025
Slafkovsky On The Spot
Noah Dobson has been one of Montreal’s best players since the start of the season, and I’m not convinced he’s 100% comfortable with his new team yet. His assist to setup Juraj Slafkovsky’s 2-1 goal early in the third period was an example of his ability to join the rush at the best possible time.
Juraj Slafkovsky gives the Habs a 2-1 lead after a nice pass by Noah Dobson.
#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/EwqAIzqC4X— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 21, 2025
Guess Who?
Hutson would go on to score his first goal of the season to provide a little insurance in the third period. Newhook provided the assist, while the goal served as a nice reward for Hutson, who had another good game. It was also perfect timing, as the Sabres cut the lead to 3-2 by scoring just a few moments later, but it was all for naught, as Jake Evans scored an empty-net goal late in the third period.
Lane ‘em up, Lane ‘em up, Lane ‘em up, knock ‘em back, knock ‘em back, knock’ em back, knock ‘em back 🎵#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/SxfpA0wGAm
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 21, 2025
Additional Montreal Canadiens Notes And Statistics
- The flip side of Hutson being such an important member of the team is that he’ll sometimes be he stuck on the ice for a little too long, as was the case when the Jiri Kulich tied the game in the second period.
Jiri Kulich goes skate-to-stick and gets the @BuffaloSabres on the board! 🦬 pic.twitter.com/RepsFfd2EN
— NHL (@NHL) October 21, 2025
- The Canadiens held an 11-4 advantage in high-danger chances in the first period, a fantastic result. Unfortunately, they took their foot off the gas in the second period, as evidenced by the Sabres’ 5-0 advantage in quality shots.
- It’s very early in his tenure with the Habs, but it’s fair to say Dobson has been a game-changer on most nights. His zone exits have led to an uptick in scoring chances off the rush, and his play in the offensive zone has been nothing short of impressive. Meanwhile, his defensive coverage has been quite good alongside Mike Matheson. The two continue to produce elite numbers for a No.1 pairing, controlling roughly 60 percent of the shots versus the Sabres.
- Jakub Dobes always seems a little chaotic in the crease, but statistically speaking, he’s having a better start to the year than Montembeault, by a decent margin, too. This is Montreal, which means there will always been some semblance of a goalie discussion at play,
- Coming into Monday’s game, Slafkovsky not only led the Canadiens in 5v5 shots, which is impressive given his shot rate is usually very low, but he also had 15 hits, tied with Kaiden Guhle for the team lead. He’s playing a much more aggressive brand of hockey, and it’s great to see.
Angry Slafkovsky is always entertaining. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/DrtldE6YIS
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 21, 2025
- Jayden Struble has quietly efficient. And I don’t mean he’s been quiet, per se. He mixes it up when need be, but he’s keeping things simple while driving the play, and it’s paying dividends.
- At 22 years old, Kapanen was actually the oldest goalscorer for the Canadiens, empty-net goals excluded, as both Hutson and Slafkovsky are one year his junior.
The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Wednesday, facing the Flames in Calgary. The puck drop is scheduled for 8:30 pm ET.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.
