November 7, 2025
On Thursday night the Montreal Canadiens were in New Jersey to face the Devils. Two young and rising teams collided and the result was a 4-3 overtime loss for the Habs.
Here’s what got me thinking.
Three goals from three centremen not named Nick Suzuki relieves some pressure.
We all know the Canadiens have a hole to fill at 2C, and we know some teams who are falling off the November cliff have centres to deal. There will be a bidding war as each guy becomes available with not as many good players on the market as teams who need one.
Dach, Kapanen and Evans all scored in Jersey. The plan Bs are collectively getting enough done that GM Kent Hughes doesn’t need to rush to overpay for a poor fit.
Is Dach playing well enough to get us wondering if he can rise to the 2C role? Is there a lesson in patience to be learned here?
Newhook got too cute in extra time.
He’s been playing so well and contributing in so many ways to the Habs. But on Thursday night he got over confident on a puck he should have just played back and rebooted. There’s a good lesson.
Relying on overtime magic is not a recipe for success.
The Canadiens have not yet learned how to keep a lead until the buzzer goes. Until recently, it hadn’t bitten them too hard because they were so successful in the 3-on-3 overtime. An OT win is not as good as a regulation win, they’ll learn in the Spring. But in the short term, 2 points is 2 points.
In their last two tries, they have only collected the loser point in extra time. By giving up a late lead, they gave up a point, and they don’t need long range vision to see that.
Sometimes it’s better to learn your lessons earlier, and the sooner they can learn to hold a lead late, the better.
Hab At Her 