The Canadiens are in first place in their division this morning

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The Canadiens are in first place in their division this morning
Credit: Getty Images

Let's take a look at the standings.

Apart from the Carolina Hurricanes, who have one more point than the Canadiens in as many games played, no Eastern club is better than the Montreal outfit at the moment.

In the overall NHL standings, there are three Western powers above the Habs, the Hurricanes… and the Habs.

(Credit: NHL.com)

Note that there are no Pacific teams among the NHL's top 11. In addition to the three Central powers, there are eight Eastern teams at the top of the standings before Vegas in 12th place.

This year's rankings are bizarre.

But hey. All of which is to say that yesterday's win was good for the Canadiens in terms of the standings, as it allowed them to maintain their lead over the Red Wings and overtake the Lightning.

Tomorrow morning, the standings won't move too much in the East, as only the Capitals are in action.

Saturday, however, will be a different story. After all, the Canadiens host the Detroit Red Wings for the Atlantic Division lead.

That doesn't sound like much of a challenge for Jakub Dobes.

Right now, the Canadiens are reaping what they sow. The guys are prepared the right way and they obviously have the right mentality to win games.

As Martin St-Louis said: success is temporary, but character is for life.

Habs coach Marty St. Louis getting philosophical tonight:

[image or embed]

– /r/Habs(@habsonreddit.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 10:34 PM

That's true because the example of Alexandre Texier is striking. Even if he hadn't scored his three goals, you'd have said he was one of the best players in the game.

The goals were “secondary effects” of the quality of his play.


overtime

– True.

– Nice.

– Excellent flash.

– Missing pieces on the short-handed.

– The ECHL should have a full season.

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