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Last night, the Canadiens missed out. Martin St-Louis' men were unable to beat the Flyers at home.
In the 4-1 defeat, we'll all agree that it was mainly the youngsters who sank the club at times via mistakes… er… that were avoidable.
And this, even if Martin St. Louis thinks the club played a mature game and was unlucky.
Habs coach Marty St. Louis on his team's 4-1 loss tonight:
“In terms of the things we talk about, consistency and maturity, I thought in the last two games, we played a mature game tonight. We didn't give up much to Philadelphia. We were just a little bit unlucky….”
– /r/Habs(@habsonreddit.bsky.social) December 16, 2025 at 10:16 PM
We'll agree that at times, there was maturity in the Habs game. But mistakes were clearly made in the name of inexperience and the club was flat.
Mike Matheson's absence was noticeable in some respects.
Nick Suzuki's turnaround, Ivan Demidov's and Jacob Fowler's were mistakes that had to be avoided. Especially that of the goalie, who has already looked better on a hockey rink.
He blames himself and Martin St-Louis didn't want to throw him under the bus, which is perfect. But it was hard to watch.
The Flyers capitalize on a Jacob Fowler mistake to make it a 3-1 game. pic.twitter.com/NLHnLKlU54
– TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 17, 2025
Afterwards, Fowler looked stressed (and that's perfectly normal) and he didn't look very confident. He looked a little less inspiring in front of net in his first career game at the Bell Centre.
It's worth noting, however, that apart from his big blunder, the young man wasn't bad. In fact, the Flyers' last goal was scored in an empty net.
But the fact remains that Fowler didn't change everything: the Canadiens gave away an atrocious goal yesterday, and also gave away a goal at the very end of the period. And the club lost, even though, once again, there were times when it would have taken saves.
Fowler has a .837 efficiency rating and eight goals allowed in the last two games (yes, that's a small sample) and it reminds us that no, the club's rookie is not the savior in December 2025.
All of which reminds us that the road to NHL success is a long one for a goalie. Jakub Dobes (who has had his ups and downs since his recall a year ago) and Jacob Fowler are proof of this.
Let's hope that the goalkeeper, who wants to work on all aspects of his game, doesn't lose confidence. That would be the worst thing for the man who was doing well in Laval before his recall.
The Canadiens have sent Samuel Montembeault to Laval for a few days to get back into shape.
In the meantime, the net belongs to the two young goaltenders. Fowler must take this as a sign of confidence.
But it's not just about Jacob Fowler. There are other players who deserve to be talked about in the wake of yesterday's duel with the Philadelphia Flyers.
What do I take away from another defeat at home?
1. Alexandre Texier played an excellent game of hockey and was undoubtedly his team's best forward. The more time passes, the luckier the Canadiens are to have signed him.
Sometimes, a change of scenery is just what you need.
2. Eight penalty minutes (while Mike Matheson was away)… 32.8% in the face-off circle… only 22 shots on goal while playing at home…
No, the Canadiens didn't play a perfect game. But more importantly, the guys need to do more in the face-off circle.
The Habs were 32.8% on faceoffs tonight vs. the Flyers:
– Nick Suzuki: 6-18, 33%
– Oliver Kapanen: 2-9, 22%
– Owen Beck: 1-2, 50%
– Jake Evans: 9-18, 50% Joe Veleno
– Joe Veleno: 1-5, 20% @r/Habs– /r/Habs(@habsonreddit.bsky.social) December 16, 2025 at 11:34 PM
3. Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson (who ended up spending time together on the ice) ate up minutes in Mike Matheson's absence. Hutson played 27:06 and Dobson spent 24:58 on the ice.
Although Hutson did well, we can't wait for the Québécois to return, right?
4. In spite of everything, the Canadiens still had a lead. It only took 39 seconds at the end of the first period for the Habs to blow their lead.
Not ideal for the standings, that.
5. Trevor Zegras is a player who was eternally linked to the Canadiens. And yesterday, we saw that in the right environment, he can still perform well enough for his club.
Do you think the Habs should have pushed harder last summer?
6. Speaking of a game where the rookies were in learning mode: Adam Engstrom quickly realized that Juraj Slafkovsky didn't like that pass.
At least Ivan Demidov came to his teammate's defense. I like that.
Ristolainen drops Slafkovsky, and then Demidov goes after him. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/deYDsOVJ24
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 17, 2025
extension
The Canadiens, who have just four wins in their last 10 games, will practice at 11:30 this morning. Then it's off to visit sick kids.
That's always touching.
I don't expect there to be much to watch at today's practice in Brossard… other than to see if Mike Matheson will be there, of course.
The Canadiens play again tomorrow (at home against Chicago) and the Rocket play tomorrow in Ohio. Expect to see Jakub Dobes and Samuel Montembeault play.
