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This season has been pretty tough for the Montreal Canadiens.
Jakub Dobes isn't living up to expectations, and there are several injured players. And as we all know, the Habs will have to make do without their captain, Nick Suzuki, for at least two weeks.
Suzuki's absence will also complicate things on defense.
However, even though the Habs are giving up a lot of goals (34 goals allowed in just nine games), the team is doing very well at five-on-five.
As Anthony Martineau pointed out in a recent tweet, the Habs lead the NHL in the fewest scoring chances allowed at five-on-five.
THE
GOOD START
There are a lot of things the Canadiens need to work on, I'll admit.
But numbers are numbers, and I place significant importance on them—especially when they align with what we see with our own eyes during games.
Right now, the Canadiens are the team that allows the fewest scoring chances to their opponents at 5-on-5.
I'll say it again: the Canadiens are the most effective team defensively at 5-on-5 in terms of chances allowed.
Oh, sure, if you look at the goals-against column, some might say the team is really struggling.
That said, if we subtract the six goals Jakub Dobeš has allowed—which is more than expected—the Canadiens also rank among the league's best teams in terms of goals allowed.
I'll say it again: there's always room for improvement, but seeing the team rank first in this category—despite the successive absences of Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson—is worth noting.
— Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) October 23, 2026
It's quite surprising, especially when you look at the goals allowed. It's easy to assume that the Habs must be giving up a lot of scoring chances.
Thanks to this advanced statistic (SCA, Scoring Chances Against), we can see that the problem isn't the defensive play, but rather Jakub Dobes's performance. It really isn't easy for the Czech goaltender.
With a goals-against average of 4.47 and a save percentage of 0.847, he's clearly not the same Dobes we saw in the last playoffs.
At least Jacob Fowler is playing very well (2.16 goals-against average). His save percentage of 0.900 (combined with his very good goals-against average), however, suggests that he isn't facing many shots. This is further evidence that the Habs aren't allowing many scoring chances.
This advanced statistic is all the more surprising given that Kaiden Guhle missed the start of the season and Mike Matheson has also missed games. With a healthy defensive corps, the Habs can still count on a solid defensive unit when they're at full strength.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Habs will fare without their captain.
In a nutshell
– Very interesting.
Kris Draper scouting the Habs again… #GoHabsGo https://t.co/4BoEXNzdpP
— Karine Hains (@KarineHains) October 23, 2026
– Too bad. Luke Mittelstadt will have an “A” on his jersey tonight, and the Rocket will try to win their seventh straight game.
Alex Belzile and Samuel Poulin will not be in the lineup tonight in Laval (injuries). Both players are listed as day-to-day. https://t.co/jjDD9FPS8w
— Laval Rocket (@RocketLaval) October 23, 2026
– A major loss for the Oilers. Could the team be interested in Samuel Montembeault?
The #Oilers have placed goaltender Devon Levi on injured reserve (IR).
Goaltender Matt Tomkins has been recalled from the @Condors under emergency conditions. https://t.co/HowneLtsVz
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 23, 2026
– That's truly incredible.
Connor McDavid has 31 points.
He has more points than these NHL teams have goals:
WSH
NYI
OTT
BUF
MTL
DET
ANA
WPG
DAL
NSH
CHI
PHI
LAK
CGY
CBJ— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) October 23, 2026
– Check this out.
Most of the action will happen earlier than usual. https://t.co/hbIXRpHZbG https://t.co/oMadX7rZn5
— Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) October 23, 2026
