NHL: Vancouver Canucks at Montreal Canadiens
Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

MONTREAL — Every day brings more Montreal Canadiens content to be absorbed, and we’re all bound to miss some news. On Sundays, we recap the relevant NHL news you may have missed, to help you stay in the Habs loop.

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Montreal Canadiens News And Notes

Nick Suzuki discussed Alex Texier’s addition to the lineup, and how quickly he became a crucial player for the team. Texier is fresh off a three-goal effort that secured a big 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers.

Speaking of Texier, his play on the first line has shored up the first line, which is now back to producing high-end underlying numbers. [Canadiens Analysis: Comparing Texier To Other First Line Wingers]

Jake Evans skated on Friday morning, joined by fellow injured players Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle.

Anton Lundell was fined $5,000 for his high-stick on Texier, confirming the Department of Player Safety does watch Panthers games from time to time.

The Laval Rocket are playing with a severely depleted lineup, but they still managed to beat the Rochester Americans 3-2. Sean Farrell (8), William Trudeau (5), and Filip Mesar (4) scored for Laval in the win.

Alexander Carrier came to the rescue on Monday night versus the Vancouver Canucks. Not only did he tie the game in the second period with a great shot, he went on to register the first two-goal effort of his career, which turned the tide for the home team. Juraj Slafkovsky also had a night to remember, to the tune of one goal and two assists in the 6-3 win. [Canadiens Highlights: Carrier And Slafkovsky Power Exciting Win]

Carrier had a cool moment with house announcer Michel Lacroix following the entertaining win.

Lost in all the excitement, rookie Ivan Demidov enjoyed yet another great outing. In fact, it was one of the best efforts of the season from the second line. It was also one of the most difficult games of the year for Arber Xhekaj, who has otherwise put together a very solid season.

Bryce Pickford is in the midst of one of the most impressive WHL campaigns in recent memory. He has 32 goals and 28 assists in 38 games, which means he’s third overall in scoring, and leads all WHL players in goals. As a reminder, Pickford, drafted 81st overall in 2025, is a defenceman.

Veterans Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead versus the Washington Capitals, but the team ran out of steam in the third period. The Habs ended up losing 3-2 in overtime, despite a strong effort from netminder Samuel Montembeault. [Canadiens Highlights: Carrier And Slafkovsky Power Exciting Win]

The GameScore card painted a fairly accurate picture of the game. Few players stood out, and the impact players did not manage to find a second gear.

The Canadiens had a perfect opportunity to blow the game wide open when they received an extended 5v3 powerplay. Unfortunately for Martin St-Louis’ team, they failed to generate many quality scoring chances.

Captain Nick Suzuki continues to show impressive growth throughout his career. It’s been a tale of consistent improvements every season.

Kaiden Guhle, who had returned to play from his latest injury on Monday versus the Vancouver Canucks, missed Tuesday’s game, in what seems to be a classic case of load management.

The Canadiens announced a contract extension for 26-year-old forward Alexandre Texier. It’s a well-deserved reward for a player who has done more than expected since joining the Habs earlier in the season. [Canadiens Highlights: Carrier And Slafkovsky Power Exciting Win]

There’s no doubt Texier has quickly found his rhythm in Montreal, an important step since he had started to lose his love of hockey while playing for the Blues.

Even though the Canadiens still have several players on the mend, we decided to take a look at the projected forward lines when players such as Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine, Jake Evans, and Alex Newhook will return to play. [Projecting The Canadiens Forward Lines Once Healthy]

Prospect Quentin Miller, drafted 128th overall in 2023, has enjoyed quite a successful freshman season in the NCAA for the University of Denver. He’s sporting a 2.27 goals against average, as well as a .919 save percentage.

Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki scored on Thursday night versus the Buffalo Sabres, but it was not enough to secure a win, as the Sabres emerged with a well-deserved 5-3 win. Sabres forward Tage Thompson had a dominant night, scoring three goals and two assists. [Canadiens Highlights: Thompson Dominates Habs]

Despite the loss, head coach Martin St-Louis was relatively pleased with Montreal’s effort. The Habs did end up holding a 10-5 advantage in high-danger chances at 5v5, but the special teams reigned supreme in the battle of surging Atlantic Division teams.

Three members of the Laval Rocket are heading to the AHL All-Star weekend. Defenceman Adam Engstrom, forward Laurent Dauphin, and goaltender Jacob Fowler are set to represent the Rocket, though it remains to be whether Fowler will be available.

Seeing as the Rocket are currently first place in the North Division, head coach Pascal Vincent will also participate in the All-Star festivities.

Alexandre Zharovsky scored a great goal in Salavat’s 5-2 win over Lada. The top Canadiens prospect now has 13 goals and 20 assists in 38 games, putting him on pace for a 53-point season.

The Canadiens were ranked seventh in the NHL’s most recent edition of the Super 16.

The Canadiens decided to return Jacob Fowler and Owen Beck to the AHL, to serve as important reinforcements for the Laval Rocket. Seeing as he ended up playing 10 games in the NHL, we decided to take a look at Fowler’s statistics compared to those produced by Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes. [Canadiens Analysis – Fowler’s Results After 10 Games]

There was some good news at practice on Friday, as Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine, and Jake Evans were present, and mostly importantly, were wearing regular sweaters rather than no-contact jerseys. This means we should expect their return to play in the near future, which will come with its share of decisions when it comes to the construction of the forward lines. [Projecting The Canadiens Forward Lines When Healthy]

Veteran Brendan Gallagher understands the value of internal competition.

Head coach Martin St-Louis did not take part in practice due to a family commitment.

Top prospect Michael Hage scored the game-winning goal in the University of Michigan’s 4-1 win over Minnesota.

Logan Sawyer also secured a GWG on Friday night, as Providence triumphed over Boston College in overtime.

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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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