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Habs Daily: Team Canada Hage, Pickford Dominates, Rangers
Marc Dumont
Here are theMontreal Canadiensnews items, stories, and content you may have missed on Saturday.
Montreal Canadiens News
We got our first idea of how Team Canada plans to use top prospect Michael Hage at the 2025 World Junior Championship. Hage was placed on the second line, alongside Tij Iginla and Braeden Cootes. All three are centres, however, it was Ignla that was slotted down the middle of the ice on Saturday. Hage also practiced on the powerplay, though he was used as a net-front presence.
First practice of 🇨🇦 World Junior camp
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters)December 13, 2025
McKenna – Beaudoin – Martone
Cootes – Iginla – Hage
Greentree – Desnoyers – O'Reilly
Vanacker – O'Brien – Reschny
Bear – Luchanko
Reid – Parekh
Aitcheson – Brunicke
Carels – Danford
Smith – Verhoeff
MacKenzie
George
Ivankovic
Ravensbergenpic.twitter.com/O6NSJjzXoH
The Canadiens decided to turn to rookie netminder Jacob Fowler again, but this time around the result was much less exciting. It wasn’t Fowler’s fault the Canadiens were outplayed by a gigantic margin against the New York Rangers, but it was a good reminder that he can’t fix Montreal’s clear-cut defensive issues. [Canadiens Highlights: Collapse At Madison Square Garden TheMontreal Canadiensvisited Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, in a classic Original Six matchup with the New York Rangers. Of course, to be accurate, the Canadiens are the only Original Six team still in the NHL. Even then, technically, when Ambrose O’Brien sold the franchise after just one season, he actually sold the Haileybury Comets—which means there are no Original Six teams left in the NHL. But I digress. Head coach Martin St-Louis once again turned to rookie netminder Jacob Fowler as his starter, in a desperate bid to instill some semblance of confidence and stability among Canadiens goaltenders. It was an exciting game that featured a bevy of lead changes, and a frustrating result for the Habs, as the Rangers emerged with a 5-4 overtime win. Let’s dive into the highlights! It appeared the Canadiens were going to avoid taking any shots on Saturday night, as evidenced by the fact that they were held without a shot by the midway point of the period. Ivan Demidov, in particular, had a great shooting opportunity, but opted to make an extra pass which failed to connect. It’s an issue the young Russian will have to improve upon as he gains confidence in the NHL. A pass too far. From this angle you can see what Demidov was going for, but still, gotta take that shot.pic.twitter.com/4t7z0xINeI And then it happened. It all happened. The Canadiens scored on their first shot of the game, yet another road goal for Zachary Bolduc, who apparently keeps all his good stuff for when the Habs are away from the Bell Centre. As per tradition, it wasNick Suzukiwho was at the centre of the action, setting up Bolduc with a perfect pass. A perfect pass by Nick Suzuki finds Zach Bolduc all alone, 1-0#GohabsGo. Arber Xhekaj then picked the perfect time to score his first goal of the year, while maintaining Montreal’s perfect shooting percentage. It was a nice reward for Xhekaj, who, if we’re being perfectly honest, probably shouldn’t be removed from the lineup at the drop of the hat. He’s playing well enough to be given some semblance of confidence from the coaching staff, which isn’t the case for every defender this season. Two shots, two goals for the#GoHabsGo Jake Evans made it 3-0 with a great shot, though it must be said that phenomLane Hutson‘s aggressive approach once again paid dividends. Statistically speaking, Hutson isn’t the best defenceman in the NHL, but he’s younger than all those playing above his level, and he’s quickly catching up. A nice snipe by Jake Evans, but keep an eye on Lane Hutson. This play never happens without his aggressive approach.#GoHabsGo That’s when things stopped going perfectly for the Canadiens, a normalization of results, all things considered. First, the Rangers scored because three playersdecided to fly the zone, despite being on the penalty kill. The change in momentum led to a penalty shot for Artemi Panarin, who made no mistake. Believe it or not, it was the first time the Rangers managed to score on a penalty shotsince 2015. Panarin scores on the penalty shot. To Hutson’s credit, he did his best to stop the flow of Rangers goals, by setting up Josh Anderson after carving precious ice in the offensive zone due to his excellent skating and fantastic hand-eye coordination. There’s no metric to measure how much time and space certain players create, but if there was, Hutson would definitely be near the top of the list. Hutson time! The Rangers weren’t fazed by the highlight-reel assist by Hutson, and would go on to score two goals in a little more than 30 seconds, punctuated by J.T. Miller’s eighth goal of the year, which featured less-than-stellar defending from all involved. At that point in the second period, the teams had scored eight goals on just 25 shots, a testament to the defence-optional approach to the game. THAT'S OUR CAPTAIN 🫡pic.twitter.com/FmcdZTOGef The referees mostly let the teams play, which was a very nice change of pace. People will complain regardless of how the referees handle a game, we have ample evidence to support this truth, but Saturday night featured fairly reasonable officiating, all things considered. Unfortunately for the Canadiens, they were outplayed by a gigantic margin, the real story of the night. The Rangers held an 12-3 advantage in high-danger chances, with the Habs failing to produce one quality scoring chance at 5v5 for a 50-minute stretch. This, of course, was probably somehow the fault of the officials, but if we’re being realistic, it was a recipe for disaster authored by the Canadiens. TheJuraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, and Oliver Kapanen line barely touched the puck during the game, allowing their opponents to take 18 shots, while they only generated two. It should also be noted they were unable to create a quality chance at 5v5, while their opponents had six. In other words, it was a second-line massacre, and the Canadiens were fairly lucky to push the game to overtime, where the Rangers completed the comeback, winning 5-4. The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Sunday, facing the Oilers in Edmonton. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET. All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, viaNatural Stat Trick.Canadiens Highlights: Collapse At Madison Square Garden
Wild Start
It was Montreal's first shot on net.pic.twitter.com/3IsoK6udWt
Arber Xhekaj makes it 2-0.pic.twitter.com/0kdpOMJ8lF
3-0.pic.twitter.com/3D70mKEhibFalling Apart
3-2 now.pic.twitter.com/rAAaCTSydF
Lane Hutson creates time and space for his teammates, then finds Josh Anderson with a perfect pass.
4-2.#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/5zNCnxYxCPFinal Frame
Florian Xhekaj went out of his way to defend his teammates on Friday night, but that didn’t stop the league from suspending a laundry-list of Laval Rocket players. Joshua Roy, Alex Belzile, and Laurent Dauphin were suspended for three games due to leaving the bench, while Samuel Blais was given a one-game suspension. As for Michael Pezzetta, the player who started the ugly situation with a blind side hit on Marc Del Gaizo, he was also suspended for three games. [Xhekaj Fights Former Hab After AHL Cheap Shot Even though theMontreal Canadienswere not in action on Friday night, prospect Florian Xhekaj still managed to make some noise. Xhekajand the Laval Rocket were facing the Toronto Marlies, when former Canadiens forward Michael Pezzetta opted to make one of his classic boneheaded hits, injuring defenceman Marc Del Gaizo with a blind-side cheap-shot while the Marlies trailed4-1. Del Gaizo was forced to leave the game, and did not return. That’s when Xhekaj, who happened to be on the ice at the time of the ugly hit, decided to take Pezzetta to task, landing a few heavy blows in a feisty battle between the two fighters. Things then escalated as Pezzetta skated by the bench, with several Rocket players making their way to the ice, as the whistle had blown to signal the end of the second period. #RocketFlorian Xhekaj drops the gloves against#MarliesMichael Pezzetta, after the former Hab lays a very questionable hit on Marc Del Gaizo. In the grand scheme of things, it could have gone a lot worse for all involved, especially since there were so many players on the ice. Xhekaj would go on to engage with Rhett Parsons, or, rather, come to the rescue of Alex Belzile, who is clearly not a fighter, and was jumped by the Marlies forward. Tyler Thorpe also dropped Cedric Pare, making it as close as it can be to a classic hockey donnybrook. Say what you will about discipline, and the violence involved, but it’s always encouraging to see a young player stick up for his teammate, especially after an unnecessary cheap shot. As for Pezzetta, it’s yet more evidence that he struggles to keep focus on a nightly basis. If he avoided some of the terrible decisions he inevitably makes, he could be a very useful player, as he loves to hit, and he tends to provide energy to the rest of the lineup on most nights. Unfortunately, his decision on Friday only led to an injury for an innocent player, and a free five-piece meal from Xhekaj, who was happy to serve the former Canadiens player.Xhekaj Fights Former Hab After AHL Cheap Shot
Xhekaj Sticks Up For AHL Teammates
A scrum involving multiple players began at the conclusion of the fight.#GoRocket#AHL#Hockey#GoHabsGo@RocketSportspic.twitter.com/vzoHoG53mK
Les attaquants Alex Belzile, Laurent Dauphin et Joshua Roy sont suspendus trois matchs en raison des conséquences de leurs actions lors du match d’hier (quitter le banc des joueurs pendant une altercation). L’attaquant Samuel Blais est également suspendu un match.
— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval)December 13, 2025
Forwards Alex…
Canadiens prospect Bryce Pickford refuses to stop scoring goals. The 19-year-old defenceman is now up to 22 goals in 29 games, including yet another multi-goal effort on Saturday night. The overall talent level in the CHL is down this season, but that doesn’t erase the fact that Pickford is outscoring most forwards in the league.
5 MULTI-GOAL GAMES IN A ROW FOR BRYCE PICKFORD!!! 🤯🤯🤯🚨🐅pic.twitter.com/d0gaJGGXBK
— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey)December 14, 2025
Sportsnaut Network
The New Jersey Devils might be cursed. On Saturday morning, it was revealed key Devils defenseman, Simon Nemec, suffered an undisclosed injury, and he is going to miss time. [New Jersey Devils TheNew Jersey Devilsmight be cursed. On Saturday morning, it was revealed key Devils defenseman, Simon Nemec, suffered an undisclosed injury, and he is going to miss time. Head coach Sheldon Keefe further explained that although he doesn’t know the timeline of Nemec’s injury, it was not a “day to day” situation. “As guys saw yesterday, Nemec got injured in practice and missed over the last half of practice, and he’s just gonna miss time… [Nemec’s timeline is] still being determined, but it’s not day to day is what I would say at this point. An exact timeline, we’ll have to get that sorted in time,” Keefe explained Saturday morning. Thus, the Devilsrecalled defenseman, Calen Addison, from the American Hockey League, and placed forward Timo Meier on the personal leave/family health non-roster list. Keefe confirmed that the Devils will dress Addison against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, as well as Dennis Cholowski and Colton White. Nemec’s injury is just another brutal blow to the Devils’ already extensive injured list. He joins a significant index of injured players that includesJack Hughes, Brett Pesce,Arseny Gritsyuk, Evgenii Dadonov, Zack MacEwen, and Johnathan Kovacevic. Add Meier to the list due to his absence. In fact, Keefe explained there’s no timeline for the power forward’s return, either. The Devils’ man-games lost total is now up to 171 games entering Saturday’s tilt with the Ducks. It’s the first of a back-to-back weekend, hosting theVancouver Canuckson Sunday afternoon as well. As a result of such injury chaos, the Devils have gone from first in the Metropolitan Division to sputtering on the outside of the playoff equation. Certainly, there’s enough time to get the train back on its tracks. However, the injuries continue to pile up, and the Devils are facing everlasting pressure as a result.
Another Brutal Blow, Key Devils Defenseman Suffers Injury
Three times in the last four games, the Pittsburgh Penguins have wadded up victory and chucked it away like a used gum wrapper no longer serving a purpose. They have repeatedly drop-kicked away wins that were theirs. [Pittsburgh Penguins]
The Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars each had two shots on goal in the opening period of their game on Saturday night. But things got rolling once the second started. [Florida Panthers]
