December 14, 2025
On Saturday night the Montreal Canadiens were at Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers. They squandered a lead but took the game to overtime, where the result was a 5-4 loss.
Some things caught my eye.
Some veterans contributed in productivity, but not in maturity.
After Game 30 I called out the veterans. The Habs are at a juncture where adding the right veterans to support the development of the kids makes sense. Or it would make sense if the Habs didn’t already have a bevy of vets… expensive ones. The problem is that they had not been very good of late.
Both Evans and Anderson scored on Saturday night. Production from those guys has been lacking, so it was time. But it was an undisciplined penalty from Evans in the overtime that sealed the loss.
Speaking of, can I say how much I dislike the idea of Jake Evans on the ice in overtime? Yes, I get they want him to take the draw, which just highlights another issue. Perhaps it’s residual irritation from the days when Claude Julien would throw out his best PK to start the OT, but I just can’t like it.
Could Montreal use Phil Danault? I could tolerate him differently in OT than Jake Evans, for sure. But he’s still an aging vet who won’t come cheap. The trade could work if one of Anderson or Gallagher went back to LA in the deal. Otherwise, it’s not worth it for the Habs.
The top six is incomplete and it shows.
Bolduc scored a nice goal last night, but I still don’t like the fit with Suzuki and Caufield. I like the chemistry between Slafkovsky and Demidov, and I respect what Kapanen is bringing, but I still don’t love the trio. The pieces are not forming a good picture yet.
Perhaps Dach’s return helps settle the picture, or perhaps a trade is inevitable.
The coach is growing impatient with the immaturity.
After taking a three goal lead, the Habs squandered it, and Marty is over it.
In fairness, the December schedule is horrendous for the Canadiens, and I suspect the Olympics distraction is real. But St. Louis’ job is local, and he’s frustrated that his young team is not maturing in their ability to play a simple and disciplined game.
They don’t have much time to get themselves sorted with the Edmonton Oilers meeting them in Montreal later today.
Hab At Her 