The Canadiens’ worst game of 2026: Martin St-Louis needs to make a change

Mathis Therrien
The Canadiens’ worst game of 2026: Martin St-Louis needs to make a change
Credit: Capture d'écran Twitter

For the first time in the playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens were outplayed by their opponent, whereas the Habs had previously either won close games or dominated their opponents.

This is the first time the Habs haven't stayed in a game for the full 60 minutes, and it showed with a glaring lack of conviction.

The Habs lacked intensity, emotion, and cohesion in a game in front of their fans that could have sent them to the conference finals.

So we obviously witnessed the Habs' worst playoff game this season, but I'd go even further and say it was the Habs' worst game of 2026.

It had been several months since Martin St-Louis's squad had been outclassed, with their last blowout loss dating back to December 9, 2025, when the Habs fell 6-1 to the Lightning at home.

Since then, the Habs had always put up a fight in every game—until last night.

It's concerning, but Martin St-Louis remains confident and calm, even offering a physics lesson after last night's game.

However, it's clear that watching his team get demolished like this, St-Louis must be considering a change to his lineup.

Whether by shuffling his lines and/or bringing in an extra player, it's clear that a breath of fresh air wouldn't hurt.

Removing Juraj Slafkovsky from the first line is clearly a viable option, considering he's no longer doing enough to stay there.

Alternatively, with Joe Veleno looking banged up last night, he might give up his spot to Brendan Gallagher (or Oliver Kapanen).

Florian Xhekaj and Owen Beck are also options, but that would be surprising.

Putting Gallagher in the lineup would be a good idea to energize the group and motivate the players to go for that ultimate win against the Buffalo Sabres.

Remember, the last time Gallagher was inserted into the lineup, he made an immediate impact by scoring a goal on his very first shift.

In short, a slight realignment of the lines, along with inserting Brendan Gallagher, is a great option for Martin St-Louis.

On defense, Jayden Struble is also a player who could make his way into the lineup, but Arber Xhekaj is playing well (including his first playoff goal yesterday), so it would be surprising to see him.


In a Flash

– For those interested.

– We find the silver lining wherever we can.

– Wow.

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