Marc Dumont
Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, stories, and content you may have missed on Wednesday.
Montreal Canadiens News
Take a closer look at how Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield has managed to hit the 40-goal mark, the first player in Montreal to achieve that feat since Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94. The most impressive aspect of his goal-scoring dominance is that he does most of his damage at even-strength. No other NHLer has a higher goals per 60 (even-strength) in the NHL. [Cole Caufield Dominance – 40 Goals By The Numbers]
It must be said that few players enjoy playing hockey as much as Caufield. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he’s better at scoring goals than most NHLers.
40 seconds of Cole Caufield greatness to celebrate his first 40-goal season! 😛 pic.twitter.com/7ABOgBq3mi
— NHL (@NHL) March 18, 2026
The playoff race in the Eastern Conference remains tightly contested, with the Habs just a few points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team on the outside looking in. There’s also the Ottawa Senators in the mix, making it yet another exciting sprint to the finish. The good news is that the Canadiens hold their destiny in their own hands, as long as they can keep finding ways to accumulate important points.
Projected 2025-26 NHL standings as of March 18 pic.twitter.com/hQIldYAaq8
— dom 📈 (@domluszczyszyn) March 18, 2026
One of the reasons it will be difficult for the Canadiens to fall out of a playoff spot is that climbing the standings in the late stretch of the season is a tough sell, especially when there are three-point games in play. Ottawa and Columbus have both put together a great series of games, and yet, they’re still struggling to make their way into the playoff picture.
Trying to continue their torrid ways and push for a Wild Card spot in the highly competitive Eastern Conference, the @Senators pay a visit to the Capitals tonight having gone 11-2-2 across their last 15 games. That record gives them the 3rd highest points percentage on this list pic.twitter.com/3kJwwdR0SE
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) March 18, 2026
Everything about prospect Bryce Pickford’s season has been impressive, and so has his road to the WHL, as evidenced by his interesting video put together by the league. [Canadiens Top 20 Prospects: No.7 – Extraordinary Pickford]
How did a young defenceman who skipped two years of hockey rise to shatter WHL records and earn a contract with the @CanadiensMTL?
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 18, 2026
This is the story of @tigershockey captain, Bryce Pickford! pic.twitter.com/VZXuHccslv
Head coach Martin St-Louis spent a fair amount of time working on the powerplay at practice, with the focus being put on the top unit. Montreal still has a top-10 powerplay, but given the talent on their first powerplay unit, not to mention the issue with overpassing, there’s clearly still work to be done.
Martin St-Louis a eu plusieurs discussions avec la première unité d’avantage numérique.
— Patrick Guillet (@PatGuillet) March 18, 2026
L’entraîneur ne semble pas tout à fait satisfait du rendement de cette unité.@DLCoulisses #GoHabsGo #PowerPlay #NHL pic.twitter.com/xyBiErPW49
ICYMI: It’s very easy to blame goaltending for all of Montreal’s woes this year, but the truth is the Canadiens allow too many high-danger chances, while producing too few to counterbalance their poor defensive play. Poor goaltending is a symptom of the problem, not the cause. [Playoff Discussion: Canadiens Issues Go Beyond Bad Goaltending]
Sportsnaut Network
Sidney Crosby is back. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain, who has missed the last 11 games after suffering an MCL sprain in the Olympics, has returned to the lineup earlier than anticipated. [Pittsburgh Penguins]
Connor McDavid had only compliments for Olympic linemate Macklin Celebrini ahead of their teams’ matchup that had the potential to shake up the Pacific Division standings. [San Jose Sharks]
The Florida Panthers welcomed Seth Jones back to their lineup on Tuesday night. The cost, as expected, was placing Brad Marchand on Long-Term Injured Reserve to become cap compliant. [Florida Panthers]
