The Montreal Canadiens faced the Minnesota Wild on Monday night, looking to extend their winning streak to four games.
It was a hard-fought game that required overtime, a recurring theme for both teams. Eventually, the Wild emerged with a 4-3 win, but the Habs did manage to secure at least one point, improving their playoff odds in the process.
Let’s dive into the highlights!
Rough Start
It only feels like the Habs have allowed a goal on the first shot of the game roughly 20 times this season. In reality, it’s closer to six or seven occasions, but there’s no doubt that it still acts as a significant detriment in the momentum department.
Jakub Dobes, who has done a great job giving the Canadiens a chance to win on most nights, will surely look back on the opening goal of the game with a certain level of regret.
Eriksson-Ek beats Dobes cleanly. Wild up 1-0. pic.twitter.com/BVWvLH8nKC
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 3, 2026
Luck On Tap
The Canadiens definitely struggled in the first half of the game, as evidenced by their lowly six shots in 30 minutes.
Fortunately for Martin St-Louis’ team, they were gifted a pair of very lucky bounces midway through the second period, when a shot by the Wild hit the post, deflected off Dobes’ mask, and then landed on the back of the net.
I’ve been watching hockey for well over three decades, and I have to say that’s one of the wildest deflections I’ve ever witnessed.
This is a new one.
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 3, 2026
The shot hits the post, Dobes' head, and then lands on the top of the net. pic.twitter.com/y5KSgKLnt0
Comeback Kids
The Canadiens do not seem comfortable in most games until they hit a certain level of adversity. That was the case on Monday, as it took a 2-0 Wild lead to get things going for the Habs, starting with a great goal from veteran Brendan Gallagher.
It should be noted Gallagher burned superstar defenceman Quinn Hughes on the play.
Brendan Gallagher scores with a nice move to cut the Wild lead to just 1.
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 3, 2026
2-1 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/fesh6STJW5
Guerin, Are You Watching?
Once Gallagher scored his crucial goal, the rest of the Montreal Canadiens immediately followed suit, starting with yet another excellent play by Lane Hutson to create time and space in the offensive zone.
Of course, Ivan Demidov gets credit for the excellent shot, which is much harder to pull off than you may assume. One-timers can be very tricky, especially if the pass is coming at full speed, as it tends to when Hutson is the set-up man.
Lane Hutson does it all, and then feeds Ivan Demidov who scores with a great shot.
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 3, 2026
Tie game.
2-2 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/8mJateLyyM
The Canadiens were then treated to their second dose of luck, when Kirby Dach managed to squeak a goal past Filip Gustavsson. Full marks to Dach for the effort, not to mention the fantastic assist by Nick Suzuki.
But in the end, it wasn’t enough, as the Wild would go on to tie the game late, and then win in overtime via another goal by Kaprisov
Kirby Dach capitalizes on a nice pass by Suzuki to sneak one through.
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 3, 2026
Habs up 3-2. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/zIppg5BrH2
The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Wednesday, facing the Jets in Winnipeg. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.
