Kaiden Guhle’s absence: we saw last night how much she hurt the Habs

Once again this season, the Montreal Canadiens will have to do without one of their defensive mainstays for more than a month of the season. Kaiden Guhle will be sidelined for at least a month, and this will certainly leave the Canadiens in a very difficult situation. And this difficult situation was already noticeable last night. Kaiden Guhle's absence really showed last night, as defensively, the club looked disorganized, and it was obvious that the defensive brigade was missing a big piece.

For the first time all season, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble were in the lineup at the same time for a Habs game, and while Struble did well, these two guys aren't eating up the minutes Guhle is taking.

In a game with a number of weak points for the #GoHabsGo.

.. Jayden Struble stood out as solid and effective once again. And with Guhle out, he'll get some runway. Let's see what he can do with it pic.twitter.com/H3HDjWgjpq– Habs Digest (@HabsDigest) October 19, 2025

The loss of Guhle clearly leaves a big gaping hole in the CH's defensive brigade, and we saw it yesterday via several defensive errors and much heavier and more difficult presences for certain pairs.

At times, the Habs defenders were going fast, and the Rangers took advantage of this to get back into the game, even though they looked completely outmatched at the start of the game.

Samuel Montembeault is currently unable to save his teammates and avoid the worst of it.He didn't look good yesterday, and if it continues like this, on top of the loss of Guhle, it could all go wrong for the Canadiens.

It's a real shame that Guhle is so unlucky in terms of injuries, because seriously, the Habs really need him and it makes all the difference when he's there and when he's not. We all remember his brilliant performance in Chicago. In short, let's hope the Habs can hold on, and adapt to Guhle's absence, while each of the top-6 defensemen will have to raise their game to make up for this loss. spacer title='En Rafale'] – The curse still seems to be firmly in place.

Like a child in his thirties still living in his parents' basement… Metal thinks he's still welcome. –

Andrew Zadarnowski (@AZadarski) October 19, 2025

– Well done.

Two wins against the Canucks | The Rocket rose to the challenge against the defending champions https://t.co/l6NJcKthV5 –

La Presse Sports (@LaPresse_Sports) October 19, 2025

– Big contract.

Kevin Durant has signed a 2-year, $90M extension with the Houston Rockets, per @ShamsCharania.

The deal includes a player option for 2027-28. pic.twitter.com/YuiFdLzcRk– TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 19, 2025