I’m sick of seeing the Canadiens win in overtime

Hooray! The Canadiens won—again—in overtime. Little Cole scored his 40th goal, the guys are happy, and the fans got to enjoy another great show.
I apologize for being Grumpy Smurf this morning, but I'm fed up.
In 67 games, Montreal has won only 25 times in regulation. It's only by adding the twelve overtime or shootout wins that we arrive at a very respectable record of 37-20-10.There's a problem with how points and wins are tallied, especially when a team like the Canadiens aims to turn its regular-season success into a winning formula in the playoffs: you don't win a hockey game in a 3-on-3 situation. Except for the gold medal at the Olympics, apparently, but that's another story.

I love the spectacle of overtime. There's space. Talented players take advantage of it. Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, and Ivan Demidov were born for this style of hockey.

Watch Cole Caufield's 40th goal from even more angles
Rewatch Cole Caufield's 40th goal from even more angles#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ocqB9LdXhP
— Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) March 18, 2026

But overtime is played 5-on-5, starting in April—when it really counts.
Martin St-Louis's team's 25 regulation-time wins place them 11th (out of 16) in the East and 6th in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers, 15 points behind in the standings, have won more games in regulation than the Canadiens. The same goes for the Capitals and the Senators, who clearly won't make the playoffs, as well as the Bruins, the Red Wings, the Penguins, the Hurricanes, the Lightning, and the Sabres.
Does that tell the whole story? Not necessarily. First, the Habs' twelve wins demonstrate great tenacity and a clutch spirit—though they'll need to replicate that with four more players on the ice. It would also be disingenuous not to acknowledge that, over 67 games, the Habs were defeated only 20 times within three periods and that 22 times, the game was tied after 60 minutes.
But this is no trivial statistic. 25 wins in 67 games is a 37% win rate after 60 minutes, no matter how you try to interpret it. And whether we like it or not, long 5-on-5 overtime periods in the playoffs are a whole different beast than the spectacle of 3-on-3 hockey.

In a nutshell
– The Canadiens really like Luke Mittelstadt.

“He's a guy who matters to the organization” https://t.co/vypKbTxXXt
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) March 18, 2026
— Attention all interested parties.

QUEBEC MATCH AUCTION
This Saturday starting at 3 p.m., you'll have the chance to get your hands on locker room plaques and mini-sticks in the colors of the Quebec match, signed by the players, by bidding in our auction!
For all the details https://t.co/EXX7EXkZZb pic.twitter.com/87LTzhPBNl
— Trois-Rivières Lions (@Lions3r) March 18, 2026

— Big news in the WNBA.

WNBA: Agreement in Principle for Significant Pay Raises https://t.co/JgGDHBKUpu
— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) March 18, 2026