3 Takeaways From The Canadiens’ Crucial Win
On Tuesday night, rivalry night at the Bell Centre, as the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Ottawa Senators. With the hosts sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and the visitors in the first wild card spot, the tilt had huge playoff implications, just like the Calgary Flames vs. New York Rangers, New York Islanders vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings vs. Washington Capitals matchups.
Just like Saturday night, the Bell Centre crowd was very vocal. It erupted in cheers when Patrik Laine made Linus Ullmark drop his stick with a hard shot and even more when Christian Dvorak scored to give Montreal the early lead.
Former Canadiens Goaltender Gives Montreal A Hand In Playoffs Race
Kent Hughes ‘Won’t Spend Like a Drunken Sailor’ in Free Agency
The Canadiens Hits Leader May Not Be Who You Think
The Canadiens Have Become Harder To Play Against
Back in Marc Bergevin's days, the Habs had several hard-hitting defensemen, which the former GM liked to say made them hard to play against. Montreal still has some hard-hitting blueliners, but there are also hard hitters up front, and it makes a difference.
In the first period alone, Thomas Chabot backed off the puck twice to brace himself for contact. Once because of a Jayden Struble hit and once because of Josh Anderson. That was one of Anderson’s five hits in the first 20 minutes.
Montreal dished out 13 to Ottawa’s nine. While we often speak of the Canadiens being more offensive under Martin St-Louis, the physical aspect of the game is getting increasingly important.
At the end of the game, the Canadiens had 27 hits, the Senators only 13, and captain Brady Tkachuk didn’t have a single one. I asked Martin St-Louis why his players were so physically dominant during the game:
I think it’s part of the game, and when you bring pace to the game, you have an opportunity to be physical. We put good pucks in the zone, and it allowed us to be close enough to them to be able to be physical. We talk a lot about the strategy of where to put the pucks, and we have players who are able to play a physical game.- Martin St-Louis on his team's physical game
Double Whammy
Failing to score on a power play is one thing, but conceding inside what should have been the two minutes of the power play hurts that much more. In the middle frame, while Drake Batherson was in the sin bin, Juraj Slafkovsky was found guilty of holding on Artem Zub. Michael Amadio gave the Senators the lead on the ensuing four-on-four sequences and deflated the Habs and the building momentarily.
Slafkovsky didn’t play a bad game, but that penalty was costly, when it happened. Still, on the Sens’ second penalty of the frame, he prevented two clearing attempts in the nick of time. After 40 minutes, the big Slovak had 3 of the Canadiens’ 17 shots and was doing more than his fair share offensively.
Thankfully for the power forward, the Habs bounced back in the best of ways in the third frame.
Winning As A Team
After Lane Hutson leveled the score in the third frame, Travis Hamonic scored from far out, a goal Samuel Montembeault probably would have liked to get back. Earlier this season, this could have been it; it could have sucked out the energy from his teammates but not on Tuesday night the Canadiens rolled up their sleeves and went to work.
Anderson, who had worked so hard all game long, was rewarded when he scored the Canadiens’ second game-tying goal of the frame. Montreal was still hungry, though, and when Shane Pinto tripped Anderson, he opened the door wide for the Habs to put the finishing touch on that game.
dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien... MA FAMILLE!!!
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 19, 2025
don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it… pic.twitter.com/bNrvyJ6hdK
Nick Suzuki, who once again played on both powerplay units, scored the game-winning goal with two seconds to go to the man advantage, but he never would have been able to do it had Brendan Gallagher not gotten it away from Ullmark after Emil Heineman’s rocket of a shot. The alternate captain got three points, and even though he didn’t get a star, he did everything else. It was a dominant performance from the third line since center Dvorak scored four points, and they were the line who capped the win off with a couple of empty-netters.
With this hard-earned win, the Canadiens leapfrog the Rangers and take sole possession of the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. With 15 games to play, the Habs are squarely in the mix, and right now, this group believes it can do anything.
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
-
3 Takeaways From The Canadiens' Best Game This Season
The Montreal Canadiens welcomed the Florida Panthers Saturday night at the Bell Centre for the first of three duels in three weeks. The Stanley Cup champions came to town without elite defenseman ...Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Examining Why the Canadiens Own The Senators This Season
The Montreal Canadiens are 3-0 versus the Ottawa Senators this season. You first noticed that they can’t seem to hold a lead. They lost two of them in their most recent contest. I think the issue ...Yahoo Sports - 3h -
Caufield powers Canadiens to 3-1 victory over Panthers
Cole Caufield scored his team-leading 33rd goal and added an assist to help the Montreal Canadiens beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Saturday night. Patrik Laine and Christian Dvorak — with his ...Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Ottawa Senators Beat Boston 6-3, Powered By Ullmark's Save Of The Year
Make it five straight wins for the Ottawa Senators. Drake Batherson had two goals and an assist on Thursday night as the Senators defeated the Boston Bruins 5-3 at Canadian Tire Centre.Yahoo Sports - 5d -
Three takeaways: Panthers struggle again with Montreal, Maurice quite unhappy with result
The hometown fans left their arena happy on Saturday night following the battle between the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens.Yahoo Sports - 3d -
The Canadiens Hits Leader May Not Be Who You Think
If you watch most Montreal Canadiens games, you know that Arber Xhekaj normally brings plenty of physicality. That's what he likes to do and is part of his job description. After Saturday night's ...Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Panthers road trip continues against Montreal squad fighting for playoff spot
The Florida Panthers will be looking to make it a perfect visit to Canada when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.Yahoo Sports - 4d -
Canadiens snap Senators' 6-game winning streak with victory
Josh Anderson scored twice, including an empty-netter, while Lane Hutson and Christian Dvorak also had goals for Montreal. Brendan Gallagher added a second into the empty net and Sam Montembeault ...Yahoo Sports - 14h -
Cellist Rendition Of "O Canada" Creates Harmony On Ice Before Kraken Game.
Seattle, WA - If you missed the start of Wednesday night’s Kraken game at Climate Pledge Arena, where they hosted the Montreal Canadiens, you missed something truly special. Instead of the usual ...Yahoo Sports - 5d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
ESPN analyst believes UNC win doesn't justify them in tournament still
ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg believes that UNC basketball's win over San Diego State doesn't justify anything yet.Yahoo Sports - 9m -
March Madness predictions: Cinderellas, upsets, Final Four picks and more for the NCAA men's and women's tournaments
The Madness is here. What can we expect? Our experts weigh in with their Cinderella picks, Final Four teams, title winners and more.Yahoo Sports - 14m -
Throwback Thursday: Chloe Dworak, Lincoln Christian (2018) #2668
With today's persistent power outages it is encouraging to republish this feature on one of our most electric players.Yahoo Sports - 17m -
Crown Notes: Hoyas to Face Lessened Cougs
Ike Watts is bouncing to other pastures. Twitter/X When the confirmation came down that Georgetown was participating in The College Basketball Crown, a new Fox Sports event being held at two, ...Yahoo Sports - 18m -
Pistons vs. Heat Predictions: Odds, expert picks, recent stats, trends and best bets for March 19
Detroit Pistons at Miami Heat Game PreviewYahoo Sports - 18m
More in Sports
-
ESPN analyst believes UNC win doesn't justify them in tournament still
ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg believes that UNC basketball's win over San Diego State doesn't justify anything yet.Yahoo Sports - 9m -
March Madness predictions: Cinderellas, upsets, Final Four picks and more for the NCAA men's and women's tournaments
The Madness is here. What can we expect? Our experts weigh in with their Cinderella picks, Final Four teams, title winners and more.Yahoo Sports - 14m -
Poch: 'Big mistake' for USMNT to focus on politics
U.S. men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino dismissed the political overtones surrounding the Concacaf Nations League finals, calling it a "big mistake" for his team to discuss politics.ESPN - 16m -
'Focused' Heels stomp Aztecs, critics in First 4
RJ Davis had 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting as North Carolina, criticized around college basketball this week for landing a berth in the NCAA tournament, stomped San Diego State 95-68 in a First ...ESPN - 16m -
Ohtani homers as Dodgers sweep Cubs in Japan
Shohei Ohtani hit a solo homer in his return to the Tokyo Dome, Roki Sasaki threw three eventful innings in his big league debut, and the Dodgers beat the Cubs 6-3 to sweep the two-game series in ...ESPN - 16m