It looked like Game 6 of the conference finals

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
It looked like Game 6 of the conference finals
Credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Last year, the Canadiens and the Hurricanes faced off in the semifinals.

As you surely remember, the Canadiens didn't exactly shine in that series. It started off well in Game 1, but…

But things got tough after that. We also remember that the Habs couldn't hold on and ran out of steam in the final games of the series, which ended in five games.

And yesterday, during the first home game of the regular season, it felt like I was watching Game 6 of that series—which, as it happened, would have been played at home.

The only thing missing was Carey Price carrying the torch…

After all, last night, the Habs weren't in the game. They were outclassed by Carolina in every way… and they're lucky that Brandon Bussi wasn't exactly on his game, let's say.

Without that, the Canadiens wouldn't have had a chance to steal the game.

Because, in reality, the 2025–2026 season and Saturday's game in Pittsburgh remind us that the Canadiens can always come back in games, even when they play poorly.

Except that's a strategy you shouldn't rely on too often. Yesterday, the Habs lost, and they deserved it.

Defensively, the team was really out of sync. The Hurricanes' pressure, which was truly excellent throughout the game, often paid off. And the home team looked disorganized defensively under Derek Lalonde.

It wasn't the change in defensive pairings that turned everything around…

And it's not like Jakub Dobes was perfect, obviously. After all, aside from that sequence where he lost his glove but still managed to stop the Canes, the Habs' goalie hasn't been great.

In fact, over the last two games, he hasn't looked like a No. 1 goalie.

Last year and in 2024–2025, in his first NHL games of the season, Dobes had been excellent before slowing down. But right now, his season is off to a rough start.

He's going to have to find ways to motivate himself…

Everyone knows the highlights of the game. But what else stands out to me from last night's game, which was only the third of the year?

Here we go.

1. Let's start on a positive note: Zachary Bolduc found the back of the net twice last night. He didn't have to wait weeks and weeks to score at home this season.

What's in store for him this year?

2. Florian Xhekaj didn't make a difference. In his first game of the season, the other guy's brother didn't make his presence felt. And with the puck, he wasn't anything special either.

Will the coach be patient with him? We'll see in due time.

3. The Canadiens had six power-play opportunities but managed to capitalize on only one. And it wasn't on the first wave…

On the penalty kill, the Habs were 4-on-5.

4. Jesperi Kotkaniemi was there. And I don't know about you, but I didn't really notice him. His six minutes and 53 seconds weren't particularly memorable, and he's no longer a storyline in Montreal.

We'll definitely wish him a fresh start…

5. Phillip Danault (62.5%, or 5 out of 8) continued his excellent work at the faceoff circle. Alex Newhook (54.5%) also performed well—even though his playing style is better suited to the wing.

Nick Suzuki (45%) and especially Jake Evans (37.5%) struggled, though.

6. Without Ivan Demidov, the Canadiens are 0-1. It's hard to gauge his impact since he clearly wasn't at 100% this season and because it's only been one game.

But in the long run, it won't be easy to replace him.

7. Lane Hutson played for 29 minutes and 21 seconds. The third defensive pairing (Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble) saw one-third as much ice time, with each player logging just nine minutes.

But the solution isn't necessarily to throw Adam Engstrom or David Reinbacher (who's in Laval) into the mess that is the team's current defense.


Overtime

This morning, the Canadiens will practice at 11:30 a.m. in Brossard. We'll see if Oliver Kapanen will be able to take on a bigger role moving forward.

The team's goal? To prepare for tomorrow's game against Nashville.

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