Oliver Kapanen: From second-line center… to 8 minutes of ice time last night

Marc-Olivier Cook
Oliver Kapanen: From second-line center… to 8 minutes of ice time last night
Credit: David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Oliver Kapanen has turned out to be a pleasant surprise this season.

He played second-line center for most of the season and did a pretty good job. Kapanen still scored 22 goals as a rookie, which is no small feat.

Except that we all expected him to hit a wall. And that's exactly what's been happening for the past few weeks.

It's simple: yesterday, the Finn spent just over eight minutes (8:25) on the ice in the first playoff game. He was the forward least utilized by Martin St-Louis and was somewhat invisible on the ice, managing just one shot on goal throughout the game.

It's often said that this seems truer than ever in Kapanen's case, but… things can change quickly in the National Hockey League.

Personally, I mostly get the impression that the young player is tired.

After all, this is the first time he's played this much in a single season since the start of his career. In the Swedish pro league, he was used to playing around 50 games per season…

The NHL is an intense league. Kapanen hasn't missed a single game in 2025–2026, and maybe fatigue is starting to catch up with him a bit.

Unless he was really playing above his level and we're now seeing the real Kapanen on the ice… Which is also possible. 

(Credit: Screenshot / HockeyDB)

Last night, the first line got the job done (especially on the power play). Josh Anderson had a good game, but without Slaf's three power–play goals… the Canadiens wouldn't have come away with the win.

That said, they're going to need help from the supporting cast moving forward, and Kapanen is part of that.

He's one of the players who will need to step up to help the Habs make a deep run in the playoffs. But before that, he'll need to regain Martin St-Louis's trust… and he'll need to regain his own confidence as well.

The young player has gone scoreless in his last 11 games.

He's going through his worst stretch of the season… and it's happening at the worst possible time for the team.


In a nutshell

– Sick.

– I love it!

– Stay tuned.

– Well done.

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